The European Parliament went with its regional development committee in voting, on Tuesday 25 October, to extend the special financial provisions enjoyed by Greece and Cyprus.
Under the terms of the proposal amending the regulation (1303/2013), increasing interim payments to 10% above the co-financing rate applicable to the various European funds (ERDF, ESF, cohesion funding, EAFRD, EMFF) will be extended until 30 June following the calendar year during which the member state ceases to receive financial aid – that is, 2017 for Cyprus, whose bail-out plan ended in spring of this year (see EUROPE 11522) and, potentially, 2019 for Greece, whose third financial assistance programme runs until 2018 (see other article).
Cyprus could also enjoy a co-financing rate of 85% (rather than 50%) for each ERDF and ESF priority area until the closure of the operational programmes. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)