Brussels, 24/10/2003 (Agence Europe) - During his visit to Cyprus from 22 to 24 October, Commissioner Michel Barnier called upon the authorities to continue their preparations for the implementation of structural funds as of 1 January 2004. "Cyprus has made huge efforts to prepare (...) but there are still two problems to be resolved urgently", he warned: "the reinforcement of administrative structures for the management of structural funds and the appropriate application of the legislation on public procurement". The Commission for regional policy declared that, once the island is reunified, "the EU cohesion policy will help Cyprus to reduce the regional disparities between the north and the south of the island, and promote the economic and social convergence of the north with the rest of the Union".
In line with the decisions of the European Council of Copenhagen of December 2002, Cyprus will receive, during the years 2004 to 2006, 52.8 million EUR under structural funds and 48.2 million EUR from the cohesion fund. Assuming apolitical regulation, the northern part of Cyprus will benefit from over 200 million EUR in EU aid, to which structural funds under Objective 1 will be added, the Commission has indicated.
Negotiations between the Commission and Cyprus on the programming of structural funds started in mid-September. The objective is to wind them up by the end of the year, as for all the acceding countries. The expenditure will be eligible as of 1 January 2004, four months before the date of accession.