President of the Republic Nicos Anastasiades participated on Tuesday in a teleconference with the President of the European Council and EU Heads of state and government, during which they discussed about the preparations ahead of the extraordinary European Council that will take place online 25 and 26 of February 2021.
Government Spokesman Kyriakos Koushos said that the teleconference, convened by the President of the European Council, was also attended by Heads of state and government of Austria, Finland, Romania and Slovakia.
He said that the European Council Summit will focus on developments related to the effort to curb the coronavirus pandemic and the common European vaccination strategy, as well as the promotion of an International Convention regarding the response ahead to possible future pandemics. Other issues on the agenda, will be related to the European Security and Defense, cyber attacks and hybrid threats and the EU`s relations with the countries of the southern Mediterranean basin.
In his statements, the Spokesman also referred to the Conclusions of the Report of the European Court of Auditors, which was presented at Monday`s session, expressing the government`s satisfaction since Cyprus ranks among the top countries in absorbing and utilizing EU funds.
He noted that according to the report, as regards the European Development Fund, Cyprus is among the first countries with an inflow of 59%, compared to the 50% EU average, while it appears that it absorbs more funds than it contributes to the EU budget.
Koushos also referred to Head of the Representation of the European Commission in Cyprus Ierotheos Papadopoulos, who told the European Court of Auditors` meeting yesterday, that Cyprus is not considered a high risk country in terms of transparent and correct distribution of funds.
The Spokesman recalled that in the period 2021-2027, Cyprus will absorb through the Recovery and Resilience Facility and the Sustainability Fund, as well as the Cohesion Funds (structural funds) together with the national contribution, an amount exceeding three billion euro, which will be channeled to real economy for the benefit of workers, businesses and households.
Source: Parikiaki.com
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