EU provides €39.5m of aid for Turkish Cypriots

The European Commission on Tuesday announced the provision of just over €39.5 million of aid for the Turkish Cypriot community as part of its latest “annual action programme”.

It said the funds are aimed at “facilitating Cyprus’ reunification” and “supporting the socio-economic development of the community”.

The funding covers five objectives: the development and restructuring of infrastructure, the promotion of social and economic development, reconciliation, confidence building, and civil society, bringing the Turkish Cypriot community closer to the European Union, and the preparation of legal texts for the EU’s acquis to be implemented.

On the matter of infrastructure, the commission will pay a total of €500,000 for urgent repairs to Nicosia’s sewage network and for the decommissioning of the old wastewater treatment plant in Mia Milia.

Additionally, €5m has been earmarked for a proposed bicommunal solar farm, while a separate project worth €1.3m has also been planned to help the Turkish Cypriots “build capacity for measuring electricity consumption and renewable energy generation at low-voltage level”.

Regarding social and economic development, a further €6.5m will be provided to increase Turkish Cypriot halloumi producers’ compliance with the EU’s Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) requirements, allowing them to export the product to Europe.

Meanwhile, a further €5.6m has been allocated to support Turkish Cypriot economic integration, private sector development and increased Green Line trade, while an extra €4m will go towards integrating Turkish Cypriot small and medium-sized enterprises into the EU’s single market.

A total of €2m will be provided to the north’s education sector, which will help provide new science laboratories to primary schools and the teachers’ academy (AOA), as well as interactive displays at special needs schools.

In the field of reconciliation, the commission has pledged a further €2.5m to the bicommunal Technical Committee on Cultural Heritage, bringing the total of their donations to over €34.4m, and another €2.6m to the Committee on Missing Persons, bringing the total of their donations to over €41m.

It has also pledged €1.5m to allow both Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot children to attend the United World Colleges across the world and have pledged a total of €2.3m for civil society organisations.

On the matter of bringing the Turkish Cypriot community closer to the EU, it pledged €1.9m for the continued operation of the EU Infopoint in northern Nicosia.

Finally, regarding the preparation of legal texts for the EU’s acquis to be implemented, a total of €2m was pledged to allow Turkish Cypriots continued access to the EU’s Technical Assistance and Information Exchange instrument.

This allows experts from EU member states to explain the acquis, hold awareness raising activities, and contribute to the drafting of legal texts which will be applicable after the Cyprus problem is eventually solved.