02/12/2022 16:25
Taking into account the funds of the Recovery and Resilience Plan and the Political Cohesion Fund, as well as the additional private investments that will result from the implementation of the supported projects, the economic impact of the "Cyprus - Tomorrow" Plan amounts to 4.4 billion euros, the President of the Republic, Nicos Anastasiades, said, during the "1st Annual Event for the Cyprus Recovery and Resilience Plan", on Friday.
The "Cyprus-Tomorrow" plan is being put into practice with the disbursement of 85 million euros, after the achievement of the first fourteen milestones of the Recovery and Resilience Plan, the President said.
As he said, it is an "ambitious and at the same time realistic plan" to achieve a sustainable long-term development model and strengthen the country's potential for economic, social and environmental sustainability. The five policy pillars defined in this framework relate to Public Health and civil protection, rapid transition to the Green Economy, strengthening the resilience and competitiveness of the Economy, digital transformation, employment and social protection, as well as training and human resources skills development.
In order to implement the above, the Plan includes a bundle of 133 measures, of which 58 concern reforms and 75 investment actions. These "constitute the largest reform and development intervention since the establishment of the Republic of Cyprus", Anastasiades underlined, noting that the total economic impact of the plan amounts to 4.4 billion euros, while, in addition to the projected increase in the Gross Domestic Product, an additional 7% will be achieved and over 11,000 new, well-paid jobs will be created.
The President stated that the disbursement of funds to Cyprus was made possible after the achievement of specific milestones and targets related to the reform of the Public Service and the improvement of the anti-corruption regulatory framework, investments and sponsorship projects related to the green transition, and confirming the adequacy of monitoring and control procedures to ensure the optimal use of European resources.
President Anastasiades said that, although the pandemic may have temporarily interrupted the course of economic development and progress in Cyprus, with the skills, professionalism and honour of the human resources in Cyprus, but also the determination of the Government through the fiscal policy, it becomes clear "how we can once again turn the crisis into an opportunity".
Efforts are now focused on achieving the prerequisites for the 2nd payment request for an amount of 85 million euros. These include 7 reforms and 11 investments, the majority of which have already been implemented or are on the way to implementation, the President said.
"I have no doubt that with determination, proper planning, consistency, but also the cooperation of the Executive and Legislative Powers, the timely implementation of these goals and milestones will be achieved again. For the Cyprus of tomorrow, the new version of the country. This is also our legacy to those who will succeed us", he concluded.