The European Commission adopted on Monday the Annual Action Programme for the Turkish Cypriot community, worth €33.4 million.
Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms, Elisa Ferreira, said that the Aid Programme has shown to bring important tangible benefits to the people of Cyprus. She added that the new set of projects adopted seek to support economic development, reconciliation and confidence building measures including substantial assistance for the implementation of the Halloumi/Hellim PDO package. “I am confident that this will contribute to efforts for a reunification of Cyprus, which is the ultimate goal of our programme”, she noted.
According to the Commission’s statement, the Programme plans tailored measures as part of the wide-ranging EU support to implement the Halloumi/Hellim package, to help Turkish Cypriots meet the relevant EU standards. This support follows the Commission’s registration of Halloumi/Hellim as a Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) in April 2021. It includes improving the food safety and hygiene standards, upgrading dairy farms and dairy yield quality, increasing the yields of sheep and goat milk, and eradicating animal diseases.
Additionally, the programme includes continued support for green energy and environment, in line with the European Green Deal priorities. Projects that will be funded will bring infrastructure and environmental protection closer to European standards. Examples are, among others, measures to complete the air quality monitoring system and the design and acquisition of a noise monitoring system.
To build confidence between the Turkish and Greek communities in Cyprus, the press release adds, the programme will continue to offer substantial financing to the Committee on Missing Persons and the Technical Committee on Cultural Heritage. Support will also be offered to Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot scholars to jointly attend the United World College (UWC) as part of the bi-communal scholarship programme.
The Commission’s statement notes that the programme will further promote trade across the Green Line by developing sustainable and competitive fisheries. Finally, it will help to address challenges to economic development and enhance the employability of youth by investing in measures on vocational education and training.
The Aid Programme for the Turkish Cypriot community, according to the Commission, aims to facilitate the reunification of Cyprus by encouraging the economic development of the Turkish Cypriot community and can furthermore act as Confidence Building Measures, building bridges between the two Communities. Hence, a particular focus is on the economic integration of the island and on improving contacts between the two communities and with the EU.
Between 2006 and 2022, €656 million have been allocated for projects under the Aid Programme. the programme is managed by the Commission’s DG REFORM.
Source: Cyprus News Agency