The European Commission has given a positive preliminary assessment of Cyprus' application for €76.9 million under the NextGenerationEU programme , which aims to boost Europe's recovery towards a greener, more digital and more competitive future.

According to the European Commission , Cyprus has successfully met the necessary milestones and targets to qualify for this third payment under the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) , the core financing instrument of NextGenerationEU.

This instalment of EUR 76.9 million is part of Cyprus's broader Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP) and follows the implementation of nine key reforms and seven investment projects.

These initiatives aim to bring concrete benefits to Cypriot citizens and businesses in areas such as digitalisation, healthcare, environmental sustainability, energy, research and connectivity .

The measures implemented within the framework of this funding application are divided into two main pillars.

The first pillar concerns the facilitation of strategic investments . A new, streamlined government procedure is intended to reduce administrative burdens and increase the efficiency of strategic investments in Cyprus, thereby promoting economic growth.

The second pillar is the reform of the electricity market. The Cypriot transmission system operator has installed a market management system to open the electricity market to more competition and thus promote fairer prices and greater efficiency.

The European Commission has forwarded its preliminary assessment to the Economic and Financial Committee (EFC), which has four weeks to deliver its opinion.

If the EFC gives a positive response, the Commission will take a formal payment decision and allow the disbursement of a further EUR 378.1 million to Cyprus .

Cyprus originally submitted its third payment request under the RRF on 3 July 2024.

This request was based on the successful achievement of 16 pre-defined milestones and objectives under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan.

The plan includes a wide range of reforms and investments designed to improve the country's economic and social sustainability while preparing it for green and digital transitions.

To date, Cyprus has been allocated a total of EUR 1.2 billion under the RRF to support its national reconstruction efforts.

Once this final payment is completed, the total funds disbursed to Cyprus under the Recovery Mechanism will amount to EUR 454 million , covering over 28 percent of the approved milestones and objectives of the Plan.

Source: CyprusMail.com

Author: Kyriacos Nicolaou