Filenews 18 January 2021
Notification from the EU was received by the Republic of Cyprus in the context of the establishment of the Recovery Fund to finance EU Member States, with a total allocation of EUR 750 billion, according to statements by Interior Minister Nikos Nouris who attended the House's Interior Committee for discussion on the bills for the reform of local government.
At the end of the Commission, it made the following statements to the representatives of the media:
"We had today an extremely constructive, I would describe it, meeting and meeting with the Committee on the Interior, in the presence of the technocrat of Mr Koutalakis, who is the man who carried out the study on Local Government. It was transferred by the Ministry of the Interior precisely to give all Members the opportunity to ask as many technocratic questions as they would like with regard to specific issues of reform, and much more so, on the issues of the uniting scenarios.
But I would like to say that there is a new fact which is extremely serious and which I made sure to communicate to my friends on Friday. The Republic of Cyprus has been notified by the European Commission - and the Ministry of the Interior has received this notification from the Directorate-General for EPSA - that in the context of the establishment of the Recovery Fund for the financing of EU Member States, with a total allocation of EUR 750 billion, the Commission will be responsible for the financing of the EU Member States. In order to be able to take our share which is €980 million, which is in sponsorship rather than borrowing, we must implement certain conditions in order to support the Cypriot economy.
One of the conditions is that we should submit a costed plan for reforms and investments with a view to implementation in 2026. The Government has already prepared the first draft and is ready to submit it in January for consultation with the European Commission. But at the same time, according to the relevant Regulation of the European Commission, these reforms also include the reform of Local Government, which is a reminder that it has been a long-term recommendation of the European Commission for at least five years, and of course which has not yet been implemented.
Therefore, I have sent an urgent letter and I have informed The Members that it is more than ever necessary to vote for the Local Government reorganisation, so as not to jeopardise the possibility of the Republic of Cyprus drawing on this sponsorship.
In addition, the problem has greater dimensions because quite simply already as a Republic of Cyprus we have an increased contribution through the national budget to this Recovery Fund. And in the inevitable scenario, when we won't be able to raise the money we're entitled to get, the €980 million we're entitled to. The additional millions that we have already contributed will be lost, and of course you realize that this will drastically de-weaken the ability of the Republic of Cyprus and the Government to help our people, entrepreneurs, ordinary citizens who need support in this difficult time that we are all going through.
Secondly, with regard to the bills, I think that we have explained very clearly, and with the help of Mr Koutalakis' expert help, why the Government insists on the scenarios of reform in particular in this structure and why we are not advocating an increase in the number of municipalities.
We have explained, I repeat, that there are specific parameters that have been taken into account when setting up the scenarios and any possible disruption of these scenarios can cause problems that are mainly related to sustainability, which you understand is not desirable. One could argue that in the face of the problem, which I have just mentioned, namely the possibility of not receiving the funding, it would be right and proper to adopt the scenario proposed by the House and accept the promotion of this in plenary.
What I would like to remind you is that as a responsible Government and as a Home Office dealing with this issue, we want to exhaust all the possibilities of discussion with the House, because we simply do not want to adopt scenarios that are not viable, and that is exactly the argument we have developed today in the House.
In conclusion, I will repeat what I said last time, that I believe, and I have seen it today also among the parliamentary parties, we are closer than ever. We are closer than ever to the issues of scenarios and the issues of the substance of the bill, even to the issue of urban licensing. I therefore hope that the ongoing debate between Members, and having been troubled by what they have heard, will have a happy ending, so that the gap in any disputes - which are not great I repeat - can be closed so that we can enable the place to obtain a long-term reform that is needed in favour of the citizens, so that we can offer better quality services to these citizens, at the lowest possible cost.
You have heard from Mr Koutalakis that there are cases where, if we proceed with these scenarios, the burden on citizens is likely to be three times lower per capita than it is today. You have heard specific examples, which are precisely documented on the basis of this study. So this is the reform we want and I want to hope that we will be able to offer this reform to the citizens of this place."
Asked to give clarification on EU funds and whether the number of Municipalities is related to any loss of funding, the Minister said that "the European Union is cutting back on reform. So what interests her is that she expects the Republic of Cyprus to make a reform effort that has the characteristics that I have mentioned. Let me remind you that we also had a similar obligation with the national health system: quality services to citizens, at the lowest possible cost and of course universal coverage. We want to do something similar now."
Asked whether EU funds would be lost if Parliament adhered to its view of 20 Municipalities, the Minister said: "The point is that if we do not have a reform that meets these specific provisions, you understand that we, as an executive, cannot consent to a reform that is proven not to meet these standards. So this is a serious possibility, which I think Members have heard and I am sure they will weigh up."
Asked to answer about the timetable and whether the finishing touches remained, Mr Nouris said: "Clearly I have left the finishing touches and I do not think it takes a month, because it is quite simply beyond a thousand bills. I think in principle and philosophy I think there are no serious disagreements. There are individual disagreements, which I think are purely matters of political decisions, which are of course a matter for party leaders and I think it is something that can happen within the next week."
Asked to comment on mismanagement issues in the existing structure of Local Government, Mr Nouris said these are the pathologies that exist in Local Government. He added that it is "one of the things that the Cypriot state is suffering and it is what the Cypriot taxpayer is constantly and repeatedly called upon to cover, undyingly to this day". He noted that "we have reached a marginal point where we cannot continue to consciously have a Local Government, which cannot offer these services that we want to offer to citizens and much more with the costs and costs that the taxpayer currently in burdens. I mean, everything is summed up. And let me allow the President of the Association of Municipalities to re-invoke his own saying in the previous session, that 'what we currently have in our country is not Local Government'.
Asked whether the Government would accept any amendments with 20 Municipalities and whether the bill could be withdrawn or mentioned, the Minister said that "the Government wants to have three bills, which by their adoption will be those bills that will meet everything we envision over the years we have been working for the Self-Government. Until the last minute, when there will be a consultation - and there is a consultation with the House - we will exhaust all the room. We are not pre-sentencing anything at the moment, but we have clearly set the bar that we want to have a package of bills that will take us to the next day, which will be better. We do not want to go to a next day, in which we will run behind developments to cover losses of a Self-Government that might be effectively condemned as unsustainable, if the provisions are such. Therefore, because we are at a point where the dialogue seems to be paying off, we felt it was right and proper to give Members the opportunity - and they have done so - to ask today all the technocratic questions they would like to ask the person who has carried out this study." The Minister added that Mr Koutalakis would remain in Cyprus, not by chance, until next Thursday to be available to the Parliamentary Committee on the Interior for, he said, any clarifications needed, for Members to get the answers they want on the issues that concern them.
"I am optimistic that we can reach the desired result," concluded the Minister.
Source: eyenews
