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- Ελληνικά
The Speaker of the House of Representatives Ms Anita Demetriou held a meeting today with the Member of the European Court of Auditors (ECA) Mr Lefteris Christoforou, on the occasion of his visit to Cyprus for the presentation of the Annual Report on the implementation of the European Union (EU) budget for the financial year 2022.
Lefteris Christoforou referred to the ECA as an institution and external auditor of the EU finances and its capacity to act as the independent guardian of the financial interests of all its citizens, contributing in particular to the improvement of its financial management. In particular, Mr Christoforou stated the purpose of the ECA to provide an independent and impartial assessment of the reliability of the EU's accounts and the legality and regularity of its operations by reporting findings, drawing conclusions and making the necessary recommendations to Member States.
Regarding the general elements of the EU budget relating to Cyprus and the results of the audit carried out on the grants received from the Recovery and Resilience Mechanism (RRM), the same official said that in the context of the implementation of the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) for the period 2021-2027 and the Next Generation EU (NGEU), Cyprus is required to absorb European funds totalling €3.1 billion, which, he said, requires coordination between the Government, the House of Representatives and all general bodies. At the same time, as regards the absorption of the DCS funds, Mr. Lefteris Christoforou informed the President of the House of Representatives that the Republic of Cyprus has applied for a total amount of €1.2 billion, of which €1 billion in grants and €200 million in loans, of which the European Commission has already approved a pre-financing of €156.8 million, which corresponds to 13% of the total. Regarding the absorption of Community funds on behalf of Cyprus from the European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF) until 30 September 2023, he referred to the high absorption rate observed, reaching 93%.
The President of the Parliament, in turn, expressed her appreciation for the work carried out by the EFA, its contribution to the design of measures to address the increasing challenges faced at EU level, as well as the design of the necessary internal safeguards to strengthen the control of the operations carried out. He further assured the Member of the European Court of Auditors that Parliament would provide all possible assistance for the continued smooth absorption of EU funds and monitoring of the implementation of the various co-financed projects/programmes within the framework of the exercise of due parliamentary scrutiny and for the benefit of the Republic of Cyprus.
(Text as sent by the House of Representatives)
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