Wednesday, 13 September 2023
The European Commission has allocated €31.7 million to the Turkish Cypriot community under the 2023 Aid Programme, Yeniduzen reports.
The Annual Action Programme offers wide-ranging EU support, including specific measures to help Turkish Cypriots achieve the standards under the “Halloumi/Hellim package” before the end of 2024.
The Commission registered Halloumi/Hellim as a Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) in 2021 and issued a decision allowing Turkish Cypriot producers to sell PDO-compliant Halloumi/Hellim across the Green Line and thus place it on the EU market, once they meet EU standards on food safety and animal health.
The EU will continue to support the Turkish Cypriot community in the production of PDO-compliant Halloumi/Hellim. The programme will also continue to support trade across the Green Line and ensure compliance with EU product and production standards, including in the area of product safety.
The Programme will continue to provide significant funding to the Committee on Missing Persons and the bi-communal Technical Committee on Cultural Heritage in order to enhance trust between the Turkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot communities.
Support will be provided to Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot high school students to attend United World Colleges (UWC) together under the bi-communal scholarship programme.
Grants will be provided to civil society organisations to promote human rights, active citizenship and reconciliation.
Finally, the programme will further promote energy efficiency and renewable energy initiatives in line with efforts to implement the priorities of the European Green Deal across the island.
EU Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms Elisa Ferreira stated that: “The programme could help the resumption of negotiations. This year’s programme will continue to contribute to economic development and social cohesion in Cyprus and will play an important role in facilitating a comprehensive settlement in Cyprus”.
