The process of moving the Court of Appeal and other parts of the Court of Justice to the former Filoxenia Hotel is turning into an expensive farce, since despite the fact that the maintenance costs were estimated at €2 million, the possibility of the judges being asked to “leave” before they can settle in, is more than possible.
It should be noted that although the maintenance work was completed two and a half years ago, the courts’ services have not yet been moved to Filoxenia.
The reason is that in the first half of 2026, Cyprus will take over the Presidency of the European Union, at which time the building should be ready to be used as a press center, as was the case in 2012 when Cyprus held the Presidency of the EU for the first time.
The decision to use Filoxenia as the Presidency’s press center was recently made by the Council of Ministers.
Asked why the Filoxenia should be abandoned from 2024 since Cyprus will take over the presidency in early 2026, we were told that an EU delegation will visit Cyprus in the summer of 2025 in order to ascertain whether the Filoxenia meets the EU standards in terms of building, services, and facilities.
The arrival of the EU delegates will be preceded by a corresponding inspection by the Department of Public Works and officials of other departments involved. As it is considered that the building will need some freshening up and modernization of some facilities, it should be vacated in time for the necessary works to be carried out.
