Cyprus is walking a tightrope towards European Court referral over its management of the Ayia Thekla-Liopetri protected coastal area, where the Audit Office has warned of environmental crimes and an orchestrated effort to serve private interests.
Hotels up to eight storeys have been built illegally in the Famagusta district Natura 2000 zone despite a three-storey limit, whilst unfinished hotel shells resembling “pigeon lofts” scar the landscape. The European Commission has reached the reasoned opinion stage—one step before court action.
Tuesday’s stormy House Trade Committee hearing exposed the chasm between local authorities demanding development and Cyprus’s binding environmental commitments to Brussels. The Audit Office described a series of controversial environmental permits as environmental crimes.
At the hearing, officials detailed how the local plan permits three storeys, yet authorities granted exemptions for six storeys, and in some cases developers built eight storeys illegally. Unfinished hotels remain abandoned, degrading the area aesthetically and environmentally—though the hearing made no mention they were built in violation of environmental approvals and planning permits.
The construction of Ayia Napa Marina and Sotira Municipality’s beach works have already caused “serious and irreversible impacts” on the ecosystem.
Permits revised under pressure
The Environment Department is examining a study prepared by the National Technical University of Athens for local authorities who want taller buildings and larger development. The Environmental Authority requested a specialist expert to assess whether the proposals align with protecting the rock partridge, the area’s designated species.
The Audit Office pointed to Cape Greco (Ammos tou Kampouri) as a case study in how environmental safeguards have crumbled under pressure. There, the Environmental Authority modified previous terms to allow additional floors without new scientific data, acting instead on economic pressures and planning incentives.
“You understand the seriousness when changes are observed without basis in legally binding terms of a Special Ecological Assessment Report,” the Audit Office stated, warning the tactic irreparably exposes Cyprus in Brussels.
The Environment Department has revised assessment reports under pressure from local authorities and investors despite contrary opinions from its own Ad-hoc Committee members and independent experts, creating what the Audit Office called a dangerous precedent. When technical decisions appear subordinated to political and economic interests, Natura 2000 protection becomes an empty letter.
If Cyprus cannot prove it can protect its natural wealth from uncontrolled construction, the price—both economic and moral—will be very heavy, the Audit Office warned.
The parliamentary committee gave the Environment Department until next Tuesday to submit a roadmap detailing steps towards proper licensing, as the spectre of EU court action looms over the island’s largest tourist district.
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