The first and foremost prevalent fact is that there does not exist a governmental department of IT. There are foundations for research in science and technology funded by the government, but no distinct department. Since the government maintains control of the telecommunications infrastructure (CYTA) and funds a large portion of the research activities, not having a separate department lends to a lethargic pace of activity. This is certainly prevalent as the IT vision of Cyprus is to become a communication hub between Europe/Middle East/Northern Africa and a technologically savy society and the progression towards this goals has been quite slow. There is in general a lack of legal fortifications to encourage entrepreneurship and expansion of this field. The foundation for future legislation is already paved with the existence of legislation protecting industrial and intellectual property – trademarks, copyrights, and so on.(22)

Note: It was stated in a March 2003 speech that the lack of legal framework is an inhibitor to E-commerce in Cyprus. See E-Commerce and E-Business page for more details.

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