Cyprus will receive €11.5 million in project financing as part of the agreement of the countries of the European Economic Area (Iceland, Lichtenstein and Norway) and the EU.
A press release issued by the Finance Ministry says that the relative Memoranda of Cooperation were signed today by the Deputy Director of Cyprus’ Directorate General for European Programmes Coordination and Development, Christos Patsalides and Niels Engelschiøn on behalf od the Financial Mechanism Committee.
Following an agreement with the EU, the EEA countries will pay the EU with €2.8 billion for their participation in the EU single market. This amount has been distributed to the 15 EU member-states with the lowest per capita income.
According to the Finance Ministry, the Memoranda earmark €11.5 million to Cyprus providing for the financing of twelve large projects that have already been selected with €7.1 million, as well as an amount of €2.7 million to finance projects of the Programme for the Civil of Citizens including the fund for Non-Governmental Organisations. A call for interest for NGOs will be announced at a later stage.
The grants will, inter alia, finance project in the fields of social inclusion, culture, the environment, mitigation from climate change, local development, the reduction of poverty, civil society, asylum and immigrations, research, human rights, business development, innovation, sustainable growth for small and medium-sized enterprises.
The financial mechanism’s main aim is the promotion of dialogue between all communities in Cyprus, the Finance Ministry added.
(Cyprus News Agency)
