Cyprus Joins The Schengen Zone

In January 2026, the European Commission unveiled its plan to overhaul the EU's Cybersecurity Act, a proposal now known as CSA2. It's the natural next step in a story that began years earlier with the EU's 2020 "5G Security Toolbox" - a set of voluntary recommendations encouraging Member States to be cautious about certain telecom suppliers. That voluntary approach produced patchy results: by most accounts, fewer than half of EU countries had actually acted on those recommendations. It is worth asking whether the adoption levels were however a failure of design, or a reflection of Member States reaching different conclusions about their risk exposures.

The EU Artificial Intelligence Act now affects businesses across Cyprus and the European Union that use AI tools for customer service, marketing, or content creation. Companies must understand their transparency obligations, disclosure requirements, and compliance responsibilities under the new regulation that became applicable in August 2026.

Today, 7 May 2026, the EU Parliament and Council reached a provisional agreement on simplification of compliance with the AI Act earlier proposed as part of the Digital Omnibus.

On 2 February 2024, the EU's Artificial Intelligence Act was unanimously approved by the Council of EU Ministers.

Cyprus has long been recognised as a reputable international financial and corporate centre. However, in recent years, the island has also become a target for fraudulent or unlicensed investment and forex companies that exploit its good reputation and European regulatory framework.

In June 2024 the European Parliament and European Council have adopted the Regulation (EU) 2024/1689, which will come in force in August 2nd, 2026.

The European Commission has unveiled the European Technological Sovereignty Package, a comprehensive legislative framework targeting four critical areas: semiconductor manufacturing through Chips Act 2.0, cloud and AI infrastructure via the Cloud and AI Development Act, digital autonomy through open source strategy, and energy sector digitalization. This ambitious initiative aims to fundamentally transform Europe's technological independence and competitive position in the global digital economy by 2030.

Artificial Intelligence is rapidly becoming a central part of everyday business operations, from recruitment systems and contract review to predictive analytics and compliance monitoring.

Artificial intelligence is often presented as either a blessing or a curse. In reality, it has the potential to become both. While AI is transforming modern life in remarkable ways, it is also creating entirely new forms of abuse capable of violating privacy, dignity and fundamental human rights.

The January issue, of the Great Britain-Cyprus Business Gazette features an article by our Chief Information Officer, Michael Ioannou. In his article Michael explains why the issue of cybersecurity...