Filenews 18 April 2021 - by Vasos Vassiliou
The European Commission has wasted no time and has already asked interior minister Nikos Nouris for an update on the reform of Local Government which, as everything shows, is postponed for a few months, if not for the whole of 2021.
The Government is sitting on burning coals in the face of the possibility of the lost millions destined for Cyprus (through the Recovery and Resilience Plan) to which a total of €968 million is spent. It should be noted that, even if no money is lost, there is the possibility of freezing funds, which means a delay in the recovery of the Cypriot economy.
The interior minister, contacted by the "F", said the EU had asked electronically to be informed about the reform of Local Government which is considered a condition for the release of aid.
Asked what the Government would do, Mr Nouris said he was preparing a response informing the European Commission in general of the Government's position following the Parliament's decision to reject a referendum on local government reform. The answer is expected to explain how the rejection of the referendum does not translate into a rejection of the reform which will obviously be promoted by the new Parliament. It is also expected to explain how, in the reform effort and the consultations held between all the parties involved, there were no objections to the substance, but on the contrary there was a positive approach, as well as proposals in this direction.
It is also expected to explain how reform remains a priority for the Government.
The question, however, is not about the will of the Government, which is taken for granted, but about when the reform can proceed for purely practical reasons. In particular, after the parliamentary elections in May and until the parliamentary committees are drawn up it will be June, and by the time they start to meet, July will arrive, when the work of this House will be terminated. This will push the start of work in September and the question is who will deal with the reform when the Local Government elections close next December.
It is recalled that opposition MPs indicated that the EU expects reforms to be completed by the year 2026, when they wondered 'what is the rush'? In other words, they felt that the Government's insistence was more about pushing for a potential risk than a real threat of losing money on the part of the EU. Opposition MPs also felt that the pressure was aimed at reducing the number of municipalities to 17 compared to 20-21 favoured by opposition parties.
Clouds and shadows from January
The shadows over The Recovery Fund's funding of Cyprus began when opposition parties raised the issue of increasing municipalities from 17 (sought by the Government) to 20-21. In fact, MPs indicated that the DISY "worked" the municipalities in which it traditionally has a majority and under-excavated the municipalities in which it had a minority.
The first "yellow card" was drawn in a letter sent by Interior Minister Nikos Nouris to the chairman of the Parliamentary Committee of the Interior Eleni Mavrou and linked Cyprus' funding to the reform of Local Government through the EU Recovery and Resilience Fund.
It was preceded by a letter from the Director-General of the Directorate-General for European Programmes, Coordination and Development on 14/1/2021, the day before the Nouris letter to the Parliament. It stated that an essential component for an integrated Recovery and Resilience Plan is the inclusion of the reforms contained in the EU Recommendations by Country in the context of the European Semester and in particular with regard to the reform of Local Government, for which a specific section will be included in the Plan.
The same letter warned that if the EU's recommendations for local government reform were not satisfied, with the aim of making it more efficient, with lower operating costs and using its resources to provide quality services to citizens and businesses, it would not be possible to raise the funding of the €968 million for the period 2021-2027.
For his part, the Minister of the Interior had pointed out that the use of the resources of the Recovery and Resilience Plan is an important priority of the Government in order to speed up the restart of the economy following the crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
The home secretary had explained to MPs that "one of the conditions set by the EU is that a costed plan for reforms and investments must be submitted with a view to implementation in 2026.
He also warned that there was "a visible risk of a freeze on the disbursement of appropriations if the planning of the reform is once again shelved and that would be the worst in the difficult times when our economy is going through the pandemic."
Mayors' frustration
The president of the Association of Municipalities, Andreas Vyra, expressed the disappointment of himself and his colleagues that the reform of Local Government has not progressed at this stage. We have done everything we can, even concessions, to enable local government to move forward, primarily for the good of the citizens and to improve the quality of their lives, said Mr Vyras who added: I hope these developments will be the last parenthesis and soon the new Parliament will approve the reform which is also a requirement of society.
