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The Council of Ministers at its meeting today, chaired by President Nicos Christodoulides, approved amendments including additional appropriations, reductions and transfers of proposed appropriations of the Budget for 2024.
The amendments were deemed necessary for the implementation of the governance programme, based on decisions taken in the last two months. Most of the amendments relate to policies and measures of a social nature, as well as in the areas of Education and Health, which include, among others, the creation of a National Cancer Institute, and include the targeted measures in the package to address the impact of the price tag and to implement the new housing policy for affordable housing. In addition, appropriations are included to effectively address the migration issue by strengthening measures that have already started to work, as well as for the establishment and operation of the Deputy Ministry of Immigration, Asylum and Integration, which we hope the House of Representatives will approve as soon as possible.
The budget remains in surplus and all the policies and measures included are within the state's fiscal capacity.
The President was also informed, at the plenary session of the Council of Ministers, of the need for the establishment of the Ministry of Immigration, Asylum and Integration, which we hope the House of Representatives will approve as soon as possible.
The budget remains in surplus and all the policies and measures included are within the state's fiscal capacity.
[P THE GOVERNMENT'S OBJECTIVE REMAINS THE FULL UTILISATION OF THE RECOVERY AND RESILIENCE FUND AND THE DISBURSEMENT OF THE 2ND AND 3RD TRANCHES IN THE IMMEDIATE FUTURE.[/P]The Council of Ministers also approved the institutionalisation of the granting of ten scholarships to women in memory of Christiana Kouta on an annual basis, amounting to three thousand euros each, for a total amount of 30 thousand euros per year. On 28 March 2023, the President of the Republic of Cyprus announced the awarding of the scholarships to women in memory of Christianna Kouta, an academic and defender of gender equality and women's rights.
The scholarships are intended for women over 30 years of age who have not completed their studies. For each year the scholarships will be awarded to ten women over 30 years of age, in different fields of study, where women are under-represented, on the basis of performance criteria. For the academic year 2023-2024, scholarships will be awarded to female students wishing to study STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics) programmes. The Council of Ministers will instruct the Cyprus State Scholarship Foundation (CSF) to proceed with the necessary procedures for the awarding of the scholarships for this academic year 2023-2024.
The Council of Ministers approved the Grant Plan of the National Coordinating Body for the Prevention and Combating of Violence against Women, for the subsidisation of programmes and actions in the field of preventing and combating violence against women for the period 2023-2028.
The National Coordinating Body for the Prevention and Combating of Violence against Women, the establishment and operation of which was decided by the Council of Ministers in 2022, is responsible for the coordination, planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of policies and measures to prevent and combat all forms of violence against women at the national level.
The National Coordinating Body for the Prevention and Combating of Violence against Women has prepared a special Grant Plan, which will be valid for the period 2023-2028, in order to be able to provide grants to Non-Governmental Organizations and other entities for the implementation of programs and activities aimed at preventing and combating all forms of violence contained in the Istanbul Convention.
The Grant Scheme for Programmes/Actions sets out the criteria and defines the conditions under which Non-Governmental Organisations, which are registered as associations or foundations, but also any other body or natural person, are entitled to receive a grant for the implementation of programmes and actions that promote the objectives of the Istanbul Convention, the National Strategy and National Action Plan for Preventing and Combating Violence against Women 2023-2028 and the respective policies and priorities in the field of preventing and combating violence against women.
The expected expenditure for the year 2023 will be covered by the budget of the National Coordinating Body for the Prevention and Combating of Violence against Women. The budget of the Coordinating Body for the year 2023 amounts to €190,000, of which an amount of €35,000 will be allocated for the implementation of actions and programmes of the National Strategy and the National Action Plan for the Prevention and Combating of Violence against Women 2023-2028. It is noted that a similar provision has been made in the Budget of the National Coordinating Body for the years 2024-2026 and an amount of €60,000 per year has been included for the funding of programmes and actions in the field of preventing and combating gender-based violence.
(PM/NG/EATH)
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