CYPRUS: €1.3 bln from EU MFF in 2014-2020

Cyprus will receive EUR 1.3 bln in EU funds for the programme period of 2014-2020, rendering the island as a net recipient for the first time since its accession in 2004.

The EU Court of Auditors in Brussels presented its audit on the 2014 budget, marking the commencement of the new 2014-2020 Multiannual Financial Framework, in the context of which Cyprus will receive EUR 1.3 bln in EU funds.
According to data, the ratio of EU funding per citizen in Cyprus amounts to EUR 1,560 compared with the EU average of EUR 1,500.
Under the 2007-2013 MFF, Cyprus’ contribution to the EU budget in 2013 amounted to EUR 160 mlns. However, following a Gross National Product revision in 2014, Cyprus will pay an additional EUR 54 mln by the end of 2015. Cyprus and the Netherlands had the highest revision in their contribution to the EU budget in 2014 that amounted to an increase of 41%.
According to European Commission figures, Cyprus’ fund absorption capacity by October was 90%, slightly above the EU-average of 87%.
Furthermore, in the ECA’s 2014 audit, Cyprus’ electronic public procurement system has been considered as a best-practises example.
The European Court of Auditors gave the EU accounts a clean bill of health for the eighth year in a row.
Both the revenue side and administrative expenditure are free from significant errors, it said, adding that the overall error rate in payments has declined for a second consecutive year, to 4.4% in 2014. The Court also, in its annual report on the implementation of the EU budget in 2014, stressed the progress made by the Commission to increase transparency and absorption concerning the management of EU funds.
“EU money belongs to our citizens and we owe it to them that every euro is well-spent. We share with the Court the view that new realities require new action. We at the Commission are working to align the budget with priorities, focus on results and strengthen controls,” said Kristalina Georgieva, European Commission Vice-President in charge of Budget and Human Resources.