You are here

Cyprus submits its plans for Recovery Facility projects to EU Commission

27/01/2021 14:09

Cyprus has submitted to the European Commission a first draft of its proposals on projects and reforms which span across a wide spectrum of policy areas of a total cost of about €1.2 billion to be largely funded by the Recovery and Resilience Facility - Next Generation EU during 2021 - 2026.

A source in the Ministry of Finance has told CNA that the draft proposals were submitted on Tuesday and that it is now expected that intensive thematic consultations will take place between Cyprus and Commission technocrats in order to reach agreement on the final proposal framework for Cyprus.

The goal, the same source added, is to complete discussions at the DGECFIN by April 2021, when the proposals will be submitted officially to the Commission in order to receive approval by the end of that month.

In the meantime, a second round of consultations between Finance Minister Constantinos Petrides and parliamentary parties is expected to begin in the coming days to discuss projects and reforms the Ministry if proposing to include for funding from the Recovery Facility. A first round of talks had taken place last September.

Cyprus` proposals are distributed in five different priority areas, namely, public health and civil protection, the lessons derived from the pandemic, fast-tracking the transition to a green economy, enhancing competitiveness and economic resilience, towards a digital era and the labour market and education and human capital.

The EU Recovery and Resilience Facility`s goal, from which Cyprus can use funds of the order of €968 million for projects and reforms, is the sustainable recovery from the Covid-19 crisis, addressing the economic and social impact of the pandemic and shielding EU economies in the long-term.