Nicosia: The use of the SAFE financial instrument constitutes part of the government’s collective effort to further upgrade and enhance the National Guard’s readiness, Defence Minister Vassilis Palmas said on Monday, noting that the Ministry’s goal is to make full use of available funding to cover the priorities of the National Guard over the next five years, up to the end of 2030.
According to Cyprus News Agency, during a discussion on European defence and Cyprus’ role, organised by Cypriot MEP Costas Mavrides, a member of the European Parliament’s Committee on Security and Defence, at the House of Europe in Nicosia, the Minister stated that beyond the resources and projects to be funded through SAFE, the Ministry of Defence has already prepared a multiannual armament plan. This plan remains adaptable to integrate new developments and technologies in a rapidly changing sector.
‘The situation in Cyprus, where occupation forces are present at particularly high levels, while Turkey has consolidated its position in the defence industry, leaves no room for complacency,’ Palmas emphasized. He noted that changes in the international environment, especially within the European Union’s area of interest, are evident, and any further delay ‘cannot be accepted.’
MEP Costas Mavrides remarked that European defence represents the most significant project of European Union integration in recent decades. He highlighted that within this transformation process, numerous challenges, opportunities, weaknesses, and risks arise. These challenges and opportunities are particularly important to Cyprus, ‘since the Republic continues to face more than just a threat, with part of its territory still under illegal occupation.’
Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third. Repeated rounds of UN-led peace talks have so far failed to yield results. The latest round of negotiations, in July 2017 at the Swiss resort of Crans-Montana, ended inconclusively.