The Retail Trade Sector and the Economic Crisis in Cyprus

By

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would take this opportunity to thank my research supervisor, family and friends for their support and guidance without which this research would not have been possible.

DECLARATION

I, [type your full first names and surname here], declare that the contents of this dissertation/thesis represent my own unaided work, and that the dissertation/thesis has not previously been submitted for academic examination towards any qualification. Furthermore, it represents my own opinions and not necessarily those of the University.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTii

DECLARATIONiii

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION1

Research Problem4

Research aims and objectives4

Significance of the study5

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW6

Cyprus and the European Union7

Critical period for the retail trade of Cyprus8

Data8

The transition9

Companies10

Cyprus and the Economic Crisis12

Economic crisis and education14

Financial Crisis and Cyprus15

CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY17

Search Technique19

Literature Search19

CHAPTER 4: CONCLUSION21

REFERENCES24

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

Located in the east of the Mediterranean, the island of Cyprus has always possessed a strategically important role in the history of the region. It has been a bridge between the East and the West. Due to its geographic position, the United States, European countries, and Russia have shown great interest in Cyprus. “This makes the future of the island and the balance of power in the area of intense interest to America, Russia, Great Britain and many other states in Europe and the Middle East” (Fenech, 2005)

The NFDA, part of the Retail Motor Retail Federation (RMI), represents the interests of franchised dealers and authorised repairers operating in the CYPRUS motor retail sector. The motor retail sector is one of the most important business sectors in the CYPRUS. The annual turnover of the motor retail sector in the CYPRUS is around £14 billion and it employs approximately 570,000 people in around 70,000 businesses. The RMI is the Cyprus's leading retail trade association in this sector, with over 8,000 members. The vast majority of the NFDA's members are SMEs. The NFDA welcomes the opportunity to comment on the European Commission's Paper 'Towards a Coherent European Approach to Collective Redress' and to contribute to the current public consultation (the Consultation). (Fenoaltea, 2005, 273)

The NFDA strongly supports the Commission's work in trying to facilitate more effective redress for consumers and EU businesses, especially for small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) and, indeed, other businesses which occupy a weak negotiating position vis-à-vis far more powerful trading partners. Such work is particularly important in view of ever more challenging budgetary and resourcing constraints faced by domestic and pan-European public authorities who fulfil a legal or regulatory enforcement and/or consumer protection role. Such authorities might, notwithstanding the merits of any complaint, be prevented from taking effective action because administrative and financial priorities dictate that resources are targeted elsewhere. It follows that greater focus on improving access to self-help remedies, whether for consumers or for smaller businesses, can only be a good thing. It is worth noting that although many of the NFDA's members are SMEs, the nature of the automotive industry is such that even larger retail groups have negligible negotiating power when it comes to ...