President Barroso commends Cypriot 'resolve' for reform after government visit
President Barroso has commended Cyprus for its resolve in implementing the financial assistance programme, and urged the government to make the best use of EU assistance to bolster the recovery.
After a series of meetings between the Commission and the Cypriot government in Brussels, President Barroso said: "We have discussed, during our meeting, precisely what we can do in concrete terms to support Cyprus."
Economy
Although the EU-IMF assistance programme is largely on track, President Barroso said that risks remain, and urged the government to keep up its reform efforts.
During a joint press conference with Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades, he reminded the government of the EU funding and technical assistance available to Cyprus.
"The extra 200 million euro agreed as part of the future EU budget will help Cyprus invest in energy efficiency, support SMEs and create jobs, including by contributing to funding for a youth guarantee," President Barroso said.
He also "strongly" urged the Cypriot authorities to take advantage of the technical assistance provided by the Cyprus Support Group, which was set up earlier this year to help ease the social effects of the crisis and nurture new sources of growth.
"I would like to assure the Cypriot authorities and the Cypriot people that the Commission stands behind you, ready to support you, as you seek to put the economy back on a more solid footing," he said.
The President was speaking after a meeting between the college of commissioners and several members of the Cypriot government. He also met bilaterally with President Anastasiades. The meetings covered a number of issues, including energy and the Cyprus settlement issue.
Energy
On energy, the President said he was confident that the recent discovery of gas reserves will contribute to economic growth and improve the security of energy supply for Cyprus and the EU, but stressed "the need to carry out a proper impact analysis for the investments to be made".
Cyprus settlement issue
On the Cyprus settlement issue, the President said that there is now a "genuine opportunity to reach a solution once and for all".
"Like President Anastasiades, I very much hope and expect that fully fledged negotiations will be re-launched soon," he said.
He said the Commission "supports efforts in agreeing on a joint statement with the other party", which he said would "facilitate the process of negotiations".
"From the Commission side, we will continue to show our support and, once we start to see concrete progress, we will further enhance our involvement, participation and visibility in the process," he said.