REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL Fifteenth Annual Report 2020 on the implementation of the Union assistance under Council Regulation (EC) No 389/2006 of 27 February 2006 establishing an instrument of financial support for encouraging the economic development of the Turkish Cypriot community
Date: 2021-06-02
Institutions: Directorate-General for Structural Reform Support, European Commission
Subjects: Cyprus, EU aid, activity report, aid programme, civil society, development aid, economic development, financial aid, national unification, social development

EN 

  EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 2.6.2021 COM(2021) 272 final  REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL Fifteenth Annual Report 2020 on the implementation of the Union assistance under Council Regulation (EC) No 389/2006 of 27 February 2006 establishing an instrument of financial support for encouraging the economic development of the Turkish Cypriot community  
 
 
REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND 
THE COUNCIL 

Fifteenth Annual Report 2020 on the implementation of the Union assistance under 
Council Regulation (EC) No 389/2006 of 27 February 2006 establishing an instrument of 
financial support for encouraging the economic development of the Turkish Cypriot 
community 

1. 

INTRODUCTION 
Council  Regulation  (EC)  No  389/20061  (the  "Aid  Regulation")  is  the  basis  for  the 
provision of assistance to the Turkish Cypriot community (TCc) and requires annual 
reporting to the Council and the European Parliament. 

2. 

PROGRAMMING OF THE ASSISTANCE 

Between  2006  and  the  end  of  2020,  EUR  592  million  were  programmed  for 
operations  under  the  Aid  Regulation.  The  amount  committed  in  July  2020  (Part  I) 
and September 2020 (Part II) for the 2020 annual action programme was EUR 36.6 
million2  in  total.  The  Multiannual  Financial  Framework  (MFF)  2014-2020  has 
provided  a  multi-annual  perspective  to  the  programme  with  a  provision  for  stable, 
annual funding. The assistance programme is, however, temporary in nature, aiming 
to  facilitate  the  reunification  of  Cyprus,  and  both  the  Aid  Regulation  and  Council 
Regulation No 1311/20133 laying down the MFF have allowed for a revision in case 
of reunification.  

3. 

IMPLEMENTATION MECHANISMS  

The programme is implemented in the areas of the Republic of Cyprus in which the 
Government of the Republic of Cyprus does not exercise effective control and where 
the application of the acquis is temporarily suspended pursuant to Protocol 10 of the 
Treaty of Accession. Assistance is implemented in direct and indirect management.  

The Commission operates in a unique political, legal and diplomatic context. Ad hoc 
arrangements  are  needed  to  implement  the  programme  while  respecting  the 
principles of sound financial management. In EU-funded aid programmes, in normal 
circumstances, agreements  with  a beneficiary  government  would establish the legal 
framework for the development of the assistance. No such agreements can be made 
for the assistance to the TCc. Management and mitigation of the inherent risk is part 
of  the  Commission's  responsibility  and  measures  adopted  include  intensive 
monitoring  of  contracts  and  provision  of  support  to  beneficiaries,  revised  payment 
conditions  and  a  careful  approach  to  the  use  of  bank  guarantees.  The  assistance 

1 
Council  Regulation  (EC)  No  389/2006  of  27  February  2006  establishing  an  instrument  of  financial 
support  for  encouraging  the  economic  development  of  the  Turkish  Cypriot  community  and  amending  Council 
Regulation (EC) No 2667/2000 on the European Agency for Reconstruction (OJ L65, 7.3.2006, p.5). 
2 
Commission Implementing Decision of 18 June 2020 on adopting an Action Programme for the Turkish 
Cypriot  community  for  the  year  2020  (Part  I)  (C(2020)  4008)  and  Commission  Implementing  Decision  of  25 
August 2020 on adopting an Action Programme for the Turkish Cypriot community for the year 2020 (Part II) 
(C(2020) 5698). 
3  
financial framework for the years 2014-2020 (OJ L347, 20.12.2013, p.884). 

Council  Regulation  (EU,  Euratom)  No  1311/2013  of  2  December  2013  laying  down  the  multiannual 

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includes  a  significant  amount  of  grant  support,  requiring  resource-intensive 
management.  

To  ensure  impact,  the  TCc  must  be  fully  engaged  in  the  preparation  for  the  acquis 
roll-out following settlement.  

The Programme Team operates through the EU Programme Support Office (EUPSO) 
in  the  northern  part  of  Nicosia.  The  Representation  of  the  Commission  in  Cyprus 
also  hosts  meetings,  seminars  and  press  conferences  and  communicates  with  the 
Cypriot public throughout the island, including on the Aid Programme. In addition, 
the  EU  Info-point,  funded  under  the  Aid  Programme,  carries  out  a  range  of 
communication  and  visibility  actions,  providing  information  about  EU  policies, 
priorities and actions in support of the TCc, and promoting European culture.  

4. 

IMPLEMENTATION DURING THE REPORTING PERIOD 

4.1. 

General overview 

The Commission continues to implement the Aid Regulation with the overall aim of 
supporting reunification. The Commission stands ready to adapt the programme as a 
result of any agreements reached in the settlement talks.  

Operations  in  2020  included  the  continuation  of  a  number  of  established  and 
successful  projects,  such  as  EU  scholarships  and  confidence  building  measures  in 
support  to  the  Technical  Committee  on  Cultural  Heritage  (TCCH)  and  the 
Committee on Missing Persons (CMP). A dedicated facility continued to fund the bi-
communal Technical Committees initiatives. 

Grant  support remains an essential element  of the programme. Assistance provided 
to  key  economic sectors preparing for a settlement  was reinforced through projects 
supporting  private  sector  and  rural  areas  as  well  as  human  resources  development. 
Efforts towards tangible improvements in the area of animal diseases eradication and 
food safety continued.  

Considerable  gaps  in  the  capacity  of  the  beneficiaries  to  effectively  implement  the 
acquis,  following  a  comprehensive  settlement,  still  exist  and  the  approval  of  many 
legal texts remains pending. However, the TCc continued to make good progress in a 
number  of  areas  and  acquired  a  firmer  understanding  of  the  challenges  linked  with 
the implementation of legal texts aligned with EU standards. 

One issue still ongoing has been the construction of the Famagusta sewage network, 
the  contract  for  which  was  terminated  in  December  2013  by  the  Commission.  The 
dispute with the former contractor was brought to arbitration and the proceedings are 
still ongoing. In parallel, a contract for the related remedial works was concluded but 
the works have not yet started. 

The  implementation  of  the  Aid  Programme  was  challenged  by  the  outbreak  of  the 
Covid-19 pandemic. The Commission made sure that the programme delivers despite 
the circumstances and put in place mitigating measures to secure the continuation of 
projects.  Importantly,  an  emergency  package  was  quickly  mobilised  to  provide  the 
most  urgent  medical  supplies,  economic  support  to  micro  business  and  SMEs,  and 
expert advice to the TCc. 

At the end of the year, 194 contracts were running under the Programme.  

4.2. 

Progress by objectives 

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The  overall  objective  of  the  Aid  Programme  is  to  facilitate  the  reunification  of 
Cyprus  by  encouraging  the  economic  development  of  the  TCc,  with  particular 
emphasis on the economic integration of the island, on improving contacts between 
the two communities and with the EU, and on preparation for the acquis.  

The  activities  undertaken  in  2020  with  respect  to  each  of  the  objectives  of  the  Aid 
Regulation were:  

4.2.1.  Objective 1: Developing and restructuring of infrastructure 

UNDP  continued  implementing  the  “Local  Infrastructure  Facility”  (LIF)  through 
ongoing contribution agreements with the Commission signed for EUR 23.4 million. 
The  facility  provides  support  for  preparing  and  implementing  relevant  local 
infrastructure investments. In addition to twelve significant projects advanced under 
the LIF, 2020 also saw the completion of an optimised second call for proposals for 
the  local  communities  resulting  in  a  potential  five  additional  projects  to  the  LIF 
pipeline.  

The  EU  bi-communal  project  for  the  rehabilitation  of  the  Pedieos  River,  aiming  to 
bring  Cypriot  communities  together  through  recreational  activities,  progressed  to 
detailed design stage. 

In the water sector, the works for the construction of the new Nicosia Trunk Sewer 
(NNTS)  continued.  NNTS  is  the  construction  of  13  km  of  sewers  to  convey 
wastewaters from the Nicosia area to the bi-communal Nicosia wastewater treatment 
plant  (WWTP),  an  EU-funded  project  completed  in  2013.  Despite  the  3-month 
suspension of the works due to the Covid-19 restrictions, the project progressed with 
around 80% of the pipeline installed and pumping stations under construction. 

The works for the construction of the irrigation system reusing the Morphou WWTP 
treated  wastewater  were  completed  in  March  2020.  Also,  the  detailed  design  and 
associated  tender  dossier  were  finalised  for  the  reuse  of  treated  wastewater  and 
sludge generated from the new Nicosia WWTP. 

The  works  contract  and  the  related  supervision  service  contract  for  the  remedial/ 
repair works of the Famagusta sewage networks were signed in March 2019 but the 
works  have  not  started  yet.  The  Chamber  of  Engineers  and  Architects  granted 
“design visa” in early 2021.  

The two amended works contracts on landfill extension and landfill degassing plant, 
now representing an investment of over EUR 4.5 million in solid waste management, 
progressed  well  despite  the  Covid-19  pandemic.  The  amendments  will  allow  the 
production  of  up  to  0.8MW  electrical  power  from  renewable  energy  sources 
(collection, treatment and combustion of landfill gas). The produced electrical energy 
ensures  the  sustainable  treatment  of  landfill  wastewaters  (leachate)  by  the  newly 
commissioned  treatment  facility,  which  otherwise  would  have  represented  an 
untenable operational cost for the final beneficiary. 

The  capacity  building  service  contract  introduced  circular  economy  principles  in 
waste  management  practices  in  local  communities.  Building  on  the  momentum 
generated  by  the  beneficiary  adopting  the  EU  promoted  legal  text  on  packaging 
waste, the setting up of the first “not for profit” producer responsibility organisation 
(PRO) for packaging waste recycling is nearing completion.  

In  line  with  the  EU-funded  integrated  solid  waste  management  plan,  grants 
their  waste  management 
to 
supporting  eight 

local  communities 

improve 

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infrastructure  are  in  the  final  phase  of  implementation.  A  shelter  to  accommodate 
victims of domestic violence was built in Nicosia through the same grant scheme. 

The  local  technical  capacity  to  monitor  environment  quality  is  being  improved 
through the renovation of the air quality monitoring network and the establishment of 
an air and fuel quality reference laboratory.  

Technical  assistance  for  the  implementation  of  an  energy  efficiency  programme  in 
schools was finalised in late 2020. The intervention analysed improvement measures 
for the energy efficiency of 10 pilot schools, such as replacement of windows, repairs 
of  building  envelopes,  and  the  upgrade  of  lighting,  heating  and  cooling  systems. 
These  improvements  were  also  analysed  in  terms  of  their  cost-effectiveness  taking 
into consideration local economic factors. The findings of the study will be used to 
assess the appropriateness of future interventions.  

4.2.2.  Objective 2: Promoting social and economic development 

The Aid Programme mobilised funds to cover the most urgent needs identified by the 
health  sector  to  fight  the  Covid-19  pandemic.  The  package  included  personal 
protective  equipment,  laboratory  devices,  testing  kits  and  ventilators.  Also,  an 
economic emergency package worth EUR 11 million was mobilised to help address 
the socio-economic impact of the pandemic. 

The  project  “Innovative  Entrepreneurship  and  Dialogue”,  implemented  with  the 
Northern  Ireland  Cooperation  Overseas  (NI-CO),  was  significantly  expanded.  The 
total  financial  commitment  is  now  EUR  16.6  million  and  a  new  component, 
“Safeguarding and Creating Employment”, was added to help combatting the adverse 
economic  effects  of  the  Covid-19  pandemic.  Emergency  support  of  EUR  3  million 
was distributed to micro and small businesses shuttered during the lockdown to help 
them restock supplies and cover other ad-hoc costs necessary to restart operations.  

In the field of rural development, the technical assistance contract on Farm Advisory 
Services  (FAS)  was  extended.  The  project  supports  the  FAS  Strategy  and  delivers 
consultancy  services  to  the  grantees  of  the  “Investments  in  Agriculture”  (Rural 
Development  IV)  call  for  proposals.  The  call  was  completed  in  2020  and  the 
Commission  concluded  55  grant  agreements  for  EUR  4.3  million  with  the  aim  to 
strengthen the agriculture value chain. 

Early  in  2020,  a  technical  assistance  project  to  strengthen  capacities  of  veterinary 
specialists to prevent, control and eradicate animal diseases completed a second large 
scale sampling and testing of animals for priority diseases (brucellosis, tuberculosis). 
More than 300 000 animals (cattle, sheep and goats) had been sampled and 383 000 
tests performed to detect infected animals and remove them from farms. As a result, 
brucellosis prevalence in the Turkish Cypriot community is in decline.  

Also,  the  Commission  procured  laboratory  tests  and  veterinary  consumables  and 
initiated  procurement  of  services  such  as  sampling  and  testing  of  animals.  This 
support amounts to nearly EUR 1 million and aims to further contribute to detection 
and  elimination  of  priority  animal  diseases.  In  addition,  laboratory  equipment  of 
nearly EUR 500 000 was procured to help increase scope and reliability of testing in 
food and health laboratories. 

EU  support  contributed  to  further  progress  in  engaging  private  veterinarians  to 
implement  sampling  and  testing  of  animals  and  other  public  health  tasks.  The 

4 

 
 
beneficiary  adopted  the  EU  promoted  legal  text  allowing  private  veterinarians  to 
carry out the above tasks. 

The disease eradication programme has been strengthened by the construction of an 
animal waste disposal system. Construction works were finished in early 2020. The 
Commission has also supported the preparation of an animal waste management plan 
to ensure a cost-effective operation of the facilities. 

Procurement  of  an  EU  funded  technical  assistance  worth  EUR  3.2  million  to  help 
speed up the effective implementation of EU aligned standards all along the chain of 
production of food of animal origin was initiated in 2020. 

In the education sector, the evaluation of the call for tenders for “Improving teaching 
and  learning  through  a  continuous  professional  development  mechanism”  was 
completed and the contract awarded. The Commission’s long-term goal to align the 
education  of  Turkish  Cypriot  children  in  line  with  best  international  practice  is 
continuing unhindered. 

While interrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic, the project on curriculum development 
for  vocational  education  and  training  is  underway,  using  the  revised  occupational 
standards for vocational skills developed during the VETLAM II project to upgrade 
the curricula.  

The project to install science laboratories in the primary schools for a value of EUR 
1.1  million  is  now  in  the  initial  implementation  stage  after  some  delays,  with  labs 
due to be installed in 48 schools. A travelling lab, in the form of a specially equipped 
bus, has also been procured. 

The  economic  monitoring  programme  conducted  by  the  World  Bank  continued  to 
provide  additional  in-depth  analysis  and  technical  assistance.  The  programme 
focused  on  fiscal  analysis  and  financially  sustainable  administration  bodies; 
economic  and  trade-related  effects  of  reunification;  private-sector  development  and 
social inclusion; and macroeconomic monitoring.  

4.2.3.  Objective 3: Fostering reconciliation, confidence building measures, and support to 

civil society 

The  Committee  on  Missing  Persons  (CMP),  supported  by  the  Aid  Programme 
through  a  contribution  agreement  with  UNDP,  continued  its  field  and  laboratory 
work.  By  the  end  of  2020,  out  of  the  2  002  total  missing  persons,  the  CMP  had 
exhumed 1 188 sets of remains; 994 of them were genetically identified and returned 
to their families. The pandemic and extremely hot weather significantly slowed down 
the  works  of  excavation  in  2020,  leading  the  CMP  members  to  develop  a  new 
excavation strategy in case of unforeseen events. 

In December 2020, the contribution agreement was extended to provide funding for 
the operations of the CMP in 2021 for an amount of EUR 2.6 million. Overall, in the 
period 2006-2020, the EU has contributed with over EUR 30 million, which amounts 
to 75% of the overall funding provided to the CMP in this period. 

Cultural  Heritage  protection  through  the  bi-communal  Technical  Committee  on 
Cultural  Heritage  (TCCH)  remained  a  key  component  of  the  reconciliation  and 
confidence  building  actions  supported  under  the  Aid  Programme,  with  18  projects 
completed  in  2020.  Overall,  the  Cultural  Heritage  programme  has  received  almost 
EUR  20  million  of  EU  funds,  which  are  being  used  to  improve  the  protection  of 

5 

 
 
cultural  heritage  sites  across  the  island.  These  sum  up  to  a  total  of  79  completed 
work projects and 17 ongoing projects.  

The  facility  to  support  the  bi-communal  Technical  Committees  continued  bringing 
the two communities together and solving every-day challenges of Cypriots. In 2020, 
it  funded  a  unique  confidence  building  measure  facilitating  the  return  of  paintings 
and  audio-visual  archives  between  the  two  communities.  The  exhibition  of  a 
selection  of  paintings  and  audio-visual  materials  was  a  high-level  political  event 
attended by both communities’ leaders. Despite the pandemic and the closing of the 
crossings,  a  number  of  targeted  activities  was  implemented  by  the  Committees  on 
Culture, Environment, Education and Health. 

Following  the  pilot  phase,  a  new  agreement  was  signed  with  the  United  World 
College  (UWC)  in  2020  to  provide  20  additional  bi-annual  scholarships  for  the 
International  Baccalaureate  (IB)  diploma.  The  UWC  will  also  implement  youth 
engagement activities and short courses in Cyprus. The aim is to create a community 
of young Cypriots engaged and skilled to undertake positive change in their societies. 

The  Aid  Programme  also  funded  the  PRIO  Cyprus  Centre  to  further  their  work  on 
the “peace dividend” to be achieved with a comprehensive settlement of the Cyprus 
problem.  The  new  study  highlighted  the  sizable  benefits  of  a  solution  for  business, 
addressing the concerns of Cypriots about the economic impact of a settlement. The 
study  was  published  in  3  languages  (Greek,  Turkish  and  English)  and  presented  to 
the general public and the international community.  

Support for civil society continued in 2020. Civic Space, the technical assistance for 
civil society organisations (CSOs), continued to build CSOs' capacities, promote an 
enabling environment for the development of civil society, and stimulate networking 
and joint actions with Greek Cypriot and other EU CSOs. Through its “Grow Civic” 
mechanism, Civic Space has supported 92 active citizenship initiatives (22 of which 
in  2020) on peace  and reconciliation,  youth,  education, health, art, human rights  or 
environment. A new 30-month contract for Civic Space came into effect in late 2020.  

The “Cypriot  civil  society  in  action VII” call for proposals  was underway  in  2020. 
For the first time, funds have been set aside for smaller/grassroots CSOs in an effort 
to expand the outreach of the call. Grants awarded under the previous call and those 
of  the  anti-trafficking  call  are  all  in  their  implementation  phase  and  the  grantees 
continue collaborating with their Greek Cypriot counterparts. 

Early  in  the  year,  the  EU  funded  initiatives  promoted  and  secured  the  inclusion  of 
trafficking in human beings and hate speech as specific criminal offences in the local 
legal text.  

4.2.4.  Objective 4: Bringing the TCc closer to the EU 

The management of “EU scholarships programme” has been delegated to the British 
Council since the academic year 2014-2015. The budget available under the last call 
allowed funding for 138 scholarships for the 2020-2021 academic year, out of which 
127 grantees accepted the award. These scholarships support students during the first 
year  of  undergraduate  studies,  graduate  students  in  their  masters  or  doctoral 
programmes, and researchers and professionals in further developing their language 
and professional skills across EU member states.  

The  scholarships  programme  has  ensured  access  to  scholarships  to  nearly  1  700 
Turkish Cypriot students and professionals since 2007. The major challenge of this 

6 

 
 
call  was  the  outbreak  of  the  pandemic  at  the  moment  of  application  and  selection, 
which was mitigated by special arrangements made by the British Council. 

The EU Info-point, managed by the EUPSO office together with the Representation 
of the European Commission in Cyprus, achieved a high level of visibility for the EU 
during  2020  by  adapting  its  activities  to  online  platforms.  It  covered  more  than  15 
EU-related  themes,  including  European  Green  Deal  Campaign  with  a  wide-scale 
information  campaign  on  energy  efficiency.  The  EU  Info-point  has  also  covered 
topics such as LGTBI rights, gender based violence, disability rights and trafficking 
in human beings. 

The  EU  Info-point  organised  17  events,  mainly  online,  including  a  large  scale 
Europe Day  campaign and 54 recurring events, including series  of “Stay  at  Home” 
music  concerts  during  the  lockdown  period.  The  events  attracted  over  15  000 
participants.  A  large  scale  Covid-19  information  campaign  was  also  implemented. 
Finally,  9  newsletters  and  35  online  infographics  were  distributed  and  157  news 
articles and 3 TV spots appeared on local media.  

Traffic  on  the  Facebook  page  “Abbilgi”  confirms  the  popularity  of  activities,  with 
over 2 000 new followers in  2020, bringing the  total  number of followers since its 
opening to 20 249.  

4.2.5.    Objectives 5-6: Preparing the Turkish Cypriot community to introduce and implement 

the acquis  

The  Commission's  Technical  Assistance  and  Information  Exchange  (TAIEX) 
instrument  is  used to  implement  objectives 5 and 6 of the Aid Regulation  and thus 
helps prepare the TCc for implementation of the acquis in view of the withdrawal of 
its suspension upon the entry into force of a comprehensive settlement of the Cyprus 
problem.  

Assistance continued in 2020 in 17 main areas, or “sectors”, of the  acquis. In total, 
the  number  of  events  organised  in  2020  was  49.  Since  March  2020,  all  TAIEX 
activities  were  organised  online.  A  new  framework  for  TAIEX  assistance  was 
developed for the period 2020-2022, with 54 Member State experts selected through 
the process.  

Regular  assistance  was  provided  by  TAIEX  health  experts  since  the  start  of  the 
Covid-19 pandemic. Support aimed to advise on immediate measures to combat the 
disease and help establish a more strategic crisis management response mechanism. 
The experts also helped develop a vaccination deployment plan and a registry, which 
prepared the ground for delivery of EU approved vaccines to the TCc. 

TAIEX support for trade across the Green Line continued. Amongst others, TAIEX 
experts  carried  out  the  regular  phytosanitary  inspections  of  potatoes  in  early  2020. 
However, after the outbreak of the pandemic, the Commission was no longer able to 
send  the  experts  to  Cyprus  to  carry  out  the  regular  inspections  of  certain  products 
provided for in Regulation 866/2004.  

4.3. 

Financial execution (contracts and payments) 

4.3.1.  Contracting 

The Commission signed legal commitments in 2020 amounting to EUR 42.6 million, 
which, taking into account human and financial constraints, gaps in readiness for the 

7 

 
 
future  acquis  roll-out  and  the  sustainability  of  projects,  means  that  the  contracting 
backlog has been eliminated.  

4.3.2.  Payments 

Payments in 2020 were EUR 41 million (EUR 35 million in 2019).  

4.4.  Monitoring 

The Commission has direct responsibility for implementation of most projects (direct 
management).  The  level  of  monitoring  by  Commission  staff  is  very  high,  with 
constant  contacts  with  contractors,  “spot-check”  visits  as  well  as  site  meetings  and 
steering  committees  meetings.  The  technical  assistance  provided  by  the  Grant 
Support  Team  (GST)  continued  to  support  the  Commission  with  monitoring  the 
implementation  of  grant  contracts,  while  also  assisting  grant  beneficiaries  in  the 
application  of  EU  rules  for  grant  contract  implementation,  including  for  secondary 
procurement.  

In  addition,  the  Commission  implements  a  number  of  contracts  under  indirect 
management  mode.  The  implementing  entities  such  as  the  UNDP,  the  British 
Council,  and  NI-CO  report  to  the  Commission  in  accordance  with  the  respective 
Framework  Agreements.  The  Commission  is  closely  involved  in  the  day-to-day 
monitoring of these actions.  

4.5. 

Audit and controls 

The  recommendations  of  the  last  audit  conducted  by  the  IAS  in  2017  related  to 
internal  control  arrangements  in  the  area  of  public  procurement  have  been  fully 
implemented. 

4.6. 

Evaluation 

The  Results  Oriented  Monitoring  (ROM)  project  continued  reviewing  the  selected 
actions  and  delivered  the  first  envisaged  training  on  improved  internal  monitoring 
capacity  of  relevant  stakeholders.  The  recommendations  received  from  the  ROM 
experts  related  to  relevance,  efficiency,  effectiveness  and  sustainability  are  being 
integrated under the reviewed actions and beyond. 

The mid-term evaluation of the Aid Programme continued in 2020. The purpose is to 
provide an overall independent assessment and to gather evidence on progress made 
towards  the  objectives  set  in  the  Aid  Regulation  during  the  2013-2018  period.  The 
draft  final  report  was  delivered  in  December  2020  and  its  draft  conclusions  are 
positive. 

4.7. 

Information, Publicity and Visibility 

Overall, 429 visibility and communication actions took place in 2020, mainly online 
due to the Covid-19 restrictions. Three booklets on education to boost skills, Green 
Line Regulation and environment in English, Turkish and Greek were published and 
preparation for two other booklets started.    

4.8. 

Consultations with the Government of the Republic of Cyprus 

Meetings  were  held  with  representatives  of  the  Government  of  the  Republic  of 
Cyprus, including during the Covid-19 crisis. The Commission continues to rely on 
the  Government's  cooperation  for  verification  of  property  rights  and  facilitation  of 
the work of the bi-communal technical committees. The Commission meets regularly 
with the Permanent Representation. 

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5. 

CONCLUSIONS 

The  Commission  continues  to  deliver  assistance  under  the  Aid  Regulation  to 
facilitate  the  reunification  of  Cyprus  by  encouraging  the  economic  development  of 
the TCc, through work under its six objectives. During 2020, assistance continued to 
focus on areas that present particular problems with future acquis compliance.  

The track record of past assistance and the maturity of projects will be continuously 
reflected  in  future  programming  exercises.  Efforts  will  keep  focusing  on  bringing 
more impact in priority areas through fewer but larger actions. 

The  Commission  stands  ready  to  deploy  resources,  including  under  the  Aid 
Programme, to support settlement negotiations under UN auspices as needed. 

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