Filenews 20 October 2022
For Cyprus, the absorption rate of European funds for the programming period 2014 – 2020 amounts to 80%, while from its accession to the EU until the end of 2021 it is a net recipient of an amount of approximately €461 million and only for 2021 an amount of €133 million, said European Court of Auditors (ECA) Member Lazaros Lazarou
Specifically, speaking before the joint session of the Parliamentary Committees on Finance and Audit, during which he presented the ECA's annual report for 2021, which he previously handed over to the Speaker of the House Annita Demetriou, Mr. Lazarou, whose term of office in the ECA expires on November 1, said that Cyprus is doing "very well" in terms of absorption issues and by the end of September it was at about 80% of the absorption for the previous programming period 2014 – 2020 for which there is scope for absorption until the end of 2023, noting that "for 2021 Cyprus was a net recipient of approximately €133 million'', in the EU budget.
He said that every year there is a variation in relation to whether a country is a contributor or a recipient, as "some years we are net contributors and some years net recipients", adding that from 2004 when Cyprus joined the EU until the end of 2021 "Cyprus is a net recipient, about €461 million in total'.
He said that for the new programming period 2021 – 2027 which includes NextGeneration EU, which includes the Recovery and Resilience Facility, Cyprus will be set to receive a total of €2.9 billion of which €1.2 billion is NextGeneration EU.
Mr. Lazarou clarified that the file of each EU member state on what it has to receive is a given and does not differentiate and added that the countries have until the end of 2023 to absorb the funds and it does not matter if they are at an absorption rate of 80% or 60% or 90%.
Also, Mr. Lazarou said that there is nothing in the audit findings for 2021 concerning Cyprus, saying that two transactions out of a total of 740 transactions were checked on a sample basis on the issue of compliance with laws and regulations and "no issue arose".
He noted that the ECA controls the EU executive which is the European Commission.
Mr. Lazarou thanked all those who served the last 23 years because he had the honor, as he said, to serve as a technocrat official in the public interest for 23 years (11 years as an Accountant of the Republic and 12 as a member of the ECA), while thanking both the late President of the Republic Glafkos Clerides for appointing him as Accountant General and the late President Demetris Christofias who nominated him in 2010 for a member of the ECA and the current President of the Republic Nicos Anastasiades who nominated him for reappointment.
He also mentioned that the ECA member is proposed and not appointed by his own country and after consulting the European Parliament is appointed by the Council and added that the ECA members are independent officials.
Moreover, asked after the Meeting of the Committees why the Government did not re-nominate him as a member of the ECA in order to be able to claim the Presidency of the Congress, Mr. Lazarou said that he is grateful for the opportunities given to him to serve both in Cyprus and in the EU and added that the issue that arose "regarding the prospect of a Cypriot being elected President to a European institution concerns primarily our country".
"For me whether 12 years of service or another 3 doesn't matter," he said, adding that it is important "to learn the lessons from managing some issues to improve."
There must, he continued, "be a change of mentality in our country, otherwise we will not move forward."
Moreover, Auditor General Odysseas Michaelides, after praising the work and respect that Mr. Lazarou has abroad, in relation to the audit of European funds in Cyprus, said that it is the responsibility of the ECA and that such matters may also be audited by EY.
He said that there is close cooperation with the ECA and EY "always responds positively to a request from the ECA" during its audit in Cyprus to assist its work and in the context of the Recovery and Resilience Fund "our service has taken on a specific role which is to be used for the purpose of documenting the adequacy of the audits carried out to the satisfaction of the European Commission".
The Director General of the Directorate General for Development Theodosis Tsiolas said that while the average absorption rate in the EU is 72%, Cyprus managed "by October 2022 to have an absorption rate of 83%" and to be in fifth place, taking into account that "we are a very small state with a very small" managing authority that is responsible for all the provisions of the regulation.
Regarding the planning for the raising of European funds, Mr. Tsiolas said that two large programs were made, which are the Recovery and Resilience Plan (41% related to climate change) and the "Thalia" program which has an amount of 1.8 billion with the national contribution (48% concerns climate change).
He also said that Cyprus for the first time managed to get such a large amount and added that we faithfully follow all the provisions of the EU directives, while "we are under constant audit by the Auditor General and the office of the Commissioner of Internal Audit".
CNA
