The active assistance of the Greek Government and the cooperation of the two Ministries in the transitional period until the implementation of the 2024 Local Government Reform in Cyprus, . Mr. Nikos Nouris and his Greek counterpart Mr. Makis Voridis during their meeting. In a statement to journalists after the meeting, the Minister of Interior, after expressing his pleasure at the visit of the Greek Minister, said that "views were exchanged on issues of common interest and of course on responsibilities of the two Ministries, especially the issue of local government."
In a statement to journalists after the meeting, the Minister of Interior, after expressing his pleasure at the visit of the Greek Minister, said that "views were exchanged on issues of common interest and of course on responsibilities of the two Ministries, especially on the issue of local government.
"It is well known that Greece has already made significant reforms in local government issues," he said.
He noted that as far as our country is concerned, "only recently, a few weeks ago, the House of Representatives implemented the government's proposal for the reform of local government." He added that "we are already actively engaged in implementation, precisely in this transitional period, so that we can shape our Local Government in such a way that in 2024 citizens will have the new model in front of them".
He noted that in this effort, "in addition to the experience we are gaining from Greece, we have already requested the active involvement with the help of experts, so that we can be assisted in this transitional stage for implementation."
"It is a transitional stage that will start early next month with a first convening of a coordination meeting of all stakeholders in local government," the Minister said. He reiterated that in this effort, "we have forwarded a request for cooperation with the Greek Government, which the Minister has already accepted and of course I thank him very much."
The Greek Interior Minister, Mr. He expressed his pleasure and honour to be at the Ministry of Interior "to exchange views, but also to see how we can support from the side of the Hellenic Republic the effort that the Republic of Cyprus is making on the issues of reforms, especially in the field of Local Government."
"The field of Local Government is an extremely critical and vital field."
"The field of Local Government is an extremely critical and vital field."
"The field of Local Government is an extremely critical and vital field. It is a vital area because it is the first line and the first point of contact of citizens, in a broad sense, state administration," the Greek Minister said.
"It is therefore of great importance to provide its services effectively, to operate effectively, to formulate a political environment for the operation of Local Self-Government that can bring specific administrative results, to produce a specific administrative product and this is linked to a number of issues," Mr. Voridis added. He explained that the issues relate to "the management of human resources and their training, the digitalisation of its services, the creation of an administrative unit, which can produce results and must have the right size and the right balance, the big issue of the responsibilities transferred to the Local Government and that it must be able to exercise them effectively". "So a number of issues are at the heart of any reform effort. We have talked and are talking about these issues with the Minister," Voridis explained.
"We have been informed about the very important and serious reform efforts that have already been undertaken and about the formation of a new charter, a new framework in local government. And it is our great pleasure to be able to assist with the transfer of experience and know-how to the Republic of Cyprus in this effort," he said.
He stressed that "the Hellenic Republic will obviously support this effort unconditionally and with all its strength and potential and I think that in the immediate future, with very specific ways and actions, we will launch the implementation of this cooperation."
He concluded by thanking Mr. Nouris again for the cooperation and for his hospitality. "It is a great pleasure for us to work together, Mr. Minister and I am sure that this will continue in the future."
Asked by a journalist whether the two ministers discussed the migration issue, Interior Minister Nouris said that Mr. Voridis was informed about the problem Cyprus is facing, adding that they exchanged views on both the Ukrainian and the migration issue in general. He said that the issues of dealing with migratory flows, the management of refugees and the issues of residence permits are the subject of a separate administrative structure, the Ministry of Migration Policy, and clarified that they were not discussed in the sense of joint action between the ministries, as they do not fall within the scope of the Greek Interior Ministry's responsibilities.
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