The deadlocks on the water and energy issues are dramatically increasing the cost of living in our country
25 November 2025, AKEL C.C. Press Office, Nicosia
Eurostat’s survey on household expenditure confirms what all Cypriots experience on a daily basis: the cost of living in our country is becoming truly suffocating. 27.5% of total household expenditure is spent on meeting essential needs—housing, water, electricity, fuel—a percentage significantly higher than the EU average (23.7%). This is happening amid the deadlocks facing the country, both due to the water crisis that is escalating and the fact that it remains energy-dependent.
In terms of water, the cost of the water shortage crisis is being shifted onto society and the environment. In 2026, the government will spend €140 million on the purchase of desalinated water as a stopgap solution, without having any strategic long-term plan in place for sustainable water supply and irrigation. It is not addressing root problems such as leaks, dam management, and drought fluctuations. In the energy sector, projects that would reduce costs and ensure sufficient electricity supply are not being completed, and electricity prices remain among the highest across the EU, with society repeatedly bearing the cost of delays and ineffective investments.
The reality experienced by our society is truly suffocating and oppressive. The government is failing in major areas that are fundamental to any state’s mission, such as ensuring affordable water and energy for all. The government’s management of these problems seeking to serve communication purposes offers no solution whatsoever to society.
