Newly-elected President of the House of Representatives Demetris Syllouris referred on Monday to a series of measures he intends to implement during his five-year term to help improve the functioning of the House.

In statements to the press during his first press conference after he assumed office, Syllouris announced his intention to cut costs, saying that he would call for a study on potential savings, including energy saving, savings on airline tickets etc.

"To this end I will ask for the cooperation of the Auditor General and the General Accountant of the Republic" he said.

He said that he will discuss with all relevant institutions how to improve legislation, so that the laws are correct, easily understood, without complexity and be communicated to the relevant authorities in simple and understandable circulars.

Referring to parliamentary diplomacy, he expressed the view that it is necessary to exploit the knowledge and connections of former Cypriot MPs and MEPs.

The President of the House said he aimed to create conditions for a meaningful dialogue with civil society in order to exploit the potential of partnerships with a wide spectrum of society, including the Church, local authorities, trade unions, the academia and NGOs.

Noting that the House must function under full transparency, he said that he would open a dialogue with the Media to agree on the best ways to cooperate. He also said that he planned to implement the House regulations as regards the absences of MPs both from House Committee meetings and the Plenary sessions.

One of the issues he raised today concerned a House dress code. Syllouris said that he would discuss with the parliamentary parties about a dress code to be implemented in the House, in accordance with the dress codes in other European national Parliaments.

The new House President made special reference to security issues, saying that he already had a telephone discussion with the Minister of Justice and Public Order on the need to further improve the security systems in the Parliament.

In addition, he said that more measures must be taken to deal with cyber crime, both for the citizens` protection as well as for the protection of the Parliament.

The House President referred to the meeting he held earlier on Monday with President of the Republic of Cyprus Nicos Anastasiades.

He noted that they agreed to have a close and frequent cooperation in order to promote in the best possible way proposed bills. They agreed to inform each other given the fact that the House President replaces the President when he is abroad.

Meanwhile, before the press conference, a meeting of the leaders of the parliamentary parties took place under the Presidency of Demetris Syllouris. Referring to the meeting, the House Speaker said that it covered the presidencies of the House Committees and expressed satisfaction with the cooperation that the parties had demonstrated during the meeting.

A second meeting will take place on Wednesday morning, so as to finalize the issue. The aim is for the Parliament to resume its work on Friday, Syllouris said.