Filenews 24 September 2025 - by Chrysanthos Manoli
Information from Fileleftheros states that yesterday the last hopes of the Republic of Cyprus to avoid the heavy political, institutional, moral and economic cost from the insistence of the European Union and the CINEA funding mechanism to return an amount of €67 million to the European funds were extinguished of the approximately €75 million that were given to it as a sponsorship by CINEA to build the infrastructure for the import and regasification of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in Vasiliko.
Our information states that in yesterday's strict letter to the Cypriot authorities, CINEA (European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency) informed that it definitively rejects the argumentation of the Cypriot government against the initial decision of the European organization to issue a debit and to oblige the Republic to return an amount close to €75 million, from €101 million that had been approved as a sponsorship in 2017 to build the terminal in Vasiliko.
As of July 2024, it became known that the EU and in particular CINEA had asked the Cypriot authorities to return the entire amount that had been given until then as a sponsorship for the construction of the terminal in Vasilikos by ETYFA. The decision to refund the amount was due to the information brought to the attention of CINEA and the EU Court of Auditors by the then Auditor General (Odysseas Michaelides) about irregularities or illegalities during the process of awarding the tender for the terminal to a consortium under the Chinese CPP.
It was reported by CINEA at the time that the European authorities confirmed with their own assessment of the activities the initial position of the Cyprus Audit Office that the score received by DEFA by the consortium under CPP was below the minimum required and should lead to its exclusion from the tender.
It was also examined and probably confirmed that a company of the consortium did not have the required years of experience, while the increase of €25 million in the value of the contract was also considered irregular by decision of the Anastasiades government and the Central Committee for Changes and Claims (KEAA), citing the economic upheavals caused to international trade during the pandemic.
Following yesterday's development, the Republic of Cyprus is required to return to CINEA by November 2025 a total amount of €67.2 million, which is the money received and spent from the EU for the construction of the terminal. More than €250 million have been spent on the project so far. euros, but construction projects remain to be implemented that may exceed the cost of €100-150 million.
As of July 2024, CPP abandoned the project and cancelled the... sinful contract he signed with DEFA in 2019, with a political decision of President Anastasiades and despite the strong disagreements of the Audit Office and the General Accounting Office.
