Following today's bilateral meeting between the Minister of Finance, Mr.
Finance Minister Constantinos Petrides said. Today, we have signed a Memorandum of Cooperation between the National Centre for Public Administration and Local Government (EKDDA) and the Cyprus Academy of Public Administration (KADD), which I would describe as extremely important for both the Ministry of Finance of Cyprus and the Ministry of Interior of Greece. This Memorandum covers a wide field of cooperation between the two countries. The Greek government is a reformist government, which is also rapidly reforming both local government and the civil service. Cyprus is a country which is also moving ahead with such reforms. Therefore, we consider the exchange of expertise and practices between the two countries to be very important. We are also taking more concrete steps. Greece has certified the internal auditors of the public service. We want to learn from Greece, because we also want to move forward with this very important measure, that is, to certify internal auditors after a rigorous evaluation, as is done in other countries. We have, as you know, strengthened the internal audit system in Cyprus, but our aim is to take more steps. Our friend the Minister, in the context of a European initiative, raised the idea of an exchange of staff (civil servants) between the two countries for training purposes, which we will work on together, so that by June we will be able to move towards cooperation. Expertise is important for both countries and we will continue this cooperation that we started to build. Thank you."
For his part, the Greek Interior Minister said. Public administration is one of the big stakes in any policy, as it has to meet ever greater challenges. One of the biggest challenges facing Europe's public administrations today is essentially the digital revolution and reform. Civil servants also need to be trained, educated, trained, adapted and adapted to the demands of this digital revolution and reform that is taking place all over the world today. I am very happy that our two institutions, the National Centre for Public Administration and Local Government of Greece (EKDDA) and the Cyprus Academy of Public Administration (KAADD), which are in charge of the training of civil servants, will continue and deepen their cooperation. I am also very happy that today we have agreed and we can announce that a bilateral cooperation between the Greek Republic and the Cypriot Republic is starting, so that, in the context of what is being discussed today in the European Commission, but also in the Council of Ministers, we can have the possibility of an exchange programme for civil servants, an Erasmus programme, through which middle and senior executives of the two public administrations can acquire different administrative experiences, see good practices and be able to work together. This, in my opinion, is an important step, as is, of course, the certification of internal auditors. Internal audit is a very important issue, for the integrity of public administration and for dealing with corruption at the preventive stage, not just at the repressive stage. Finally, the third step is the certification of digital skills, i.e. training programmes that will enable civil servants to certify their digital skills. I am happy about this meeting and the cooperation between our two training structures and I believe that this is a cooperation that will be welcomed also at the level of the European Commission. Thank you."
(NΓ/IK)
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