Fuel station owners will stage a protest outside the Presidential Palace in Nicosia on Tuesday 21 July, seeking the intervention of President Nikos Christodoulides over a decree issued by the Minister of Transport that immobilises fuel tankers failing to meet ADR safety requirements. The Pancyprian Association of Petroleum Station Owners says the measure affects 80 to 90% of fuel tankers and warns there is no infrastructure in place to implement it.
Tuesday's protest
According to information from the Police, protesters will gather at 10.00 at the GSP Stadium car park before moving in an organised march towards the Presidential Palace, via Iosif Hadjiiosif Street and Athalassas Avenue.
The decree at the centre of the dispute
In statements to CNA, the President of the Pancyprian Association of Petroleum Station Owners, Savvas Prokopiou, said the mobilisation concerns the Transport Minister's decree dated 8 August 2025. "On the basis of the decree, our tankers must be immobilised immediately," he said.
Talks that stalled
Mr Prokopiou said the association had met with the Road Transport Department, the technocratic body that advises the Minister. "We concluded on 29 September, that is one and a half months later, that due to practical difficulties and the need for a transitional period, they would try to secure a five-year extension through the European Commission, something which the Minister stopped. Under European directives, however, this is required, meaning a transitional period is needed from the moment the decree is issued," he said.
What the owners are asking for
Mr Prokopiou explained that under the decree, 80 to 90% of tankers must be taken off the road. "There are procedures that must be carried out, but they need time, and afterwards, once the inspection process is completed, further time is needed for those vehicles that must be replaced or modified," he said.
He stressed that the owners accept the decree in principle. "We fully accept this decree as a concept. We are simply asking at this moment, because we did not reach an agreement with the Minister, for the immediate intervention of the President of the Republic to provide a solution, because imposing a decree does not guarantee safety," he noted.
No certification body in place
"We understand any risk that exists, which does not exist, but this requires a process and a period of time. Moreover, there is no infrastructure to implement this decree. The competent service that can certify the tankers does not exist and must be created immediately," he concluded.
