Cyprus' proposals for EU Recovery and Resilience Facility to be finalised next week

Cyprus’ plan of proposals to receive about €968 million of funding from the European Union Recovery and Resilience Facility - Next Generation EU will be finalised next week, according to CNA sources.

The EU Fund aims at a sustainable recovery from the COVID-19 crisis, addressing the economic and social consequences, as well as at the long-term shielding of the member-states economies.

The proposals have to do with investments and reforms in a wide range of policy areas for the years 2021 - 2023. Once they are finalised the Ministry of Finance will submit them to the Commission`s Directorate General for Economic and Financial Affairs (DG ECFIN) to start discussions on the informal text of proposals to be submitted.

As a source involved in the matter told CNA, the aim is to complete the preparation of the proposals in DG ECFIN by April 2021, when it will be submitted officially to the Commission for approval.

According to the same source, in recent weeks separate meetings of the Ministry of Finance with all other Ministries have taken place, to discuss the plans in relation to investments and reforms in a wide range of policy areas. Then the Ministry of Finance will select projects from the list of each Ministry. Next week there will be meetings with the Ministries in order to finalise the plan of each Ministry, the source noted.

Cyprus is estimated to receive around €968 million in loans, an amount that is among the highest per capita in the EU. Funding could be provided for investment and reform in a wide range of policy areas such as employment, skills development, education, research and innovation, health, public administration, justice, competitiveness and productivity as well as social issues, with particular emphasis on the digital and green transition.