Eurofile: 99 days to go

FACT OF THE DAY:
ON CYPRUS’ accession to the EU, the European Commission will formally approve the implementation of structural and cohesion funds in Cyprus for the period 2004-2006.

During this period Cyprus will benefit from Community co-financing in the region of €53.3 million in structural funds, while an additional € 54 million will be made available from the EU cohesion fund for Cyprus to co-finance infrastructure in the environment and transport sectors.

Known as the ‘instruments of solidarity’, Structural and Cohesion Funds are used to advance the Community’s objectives of economic and social progress throughout the Union: particularly by reducing disparities in the levels of development between the regions.

Their implementation has a major impact on the competitiveness of regions and contributes significantly to improving the living conditions of citizens, particularly in poorer regions. They account for over a third of the European Union budget (roughly 36 billion euros in 2004).

The funds will be used to co-finance public and private sector projects on sustainable rural development; development of urban areas in decline; the modernisation of policies and systems in employment, education, training, life-long learning; and support for the fisheries sector in Cyprus.

Through the application of the ‘subsidiarity’ principle, the selection of these co-financed projects is in the hands of national, regional and local authorities, provided they comply with EU laws on regional policy, environmental protection, public procurement and financial management and control.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.