Two new ESPN Flash reports prepared by the European Social Policy Network (ESPN) are now available and provide information on Cypriot housing policy for mountainous, remote and disadvantaged areas, and the future of the Romanian guaranteed minimum income scheme.

© Pixabay

Cyprus: housing policy for remote, mountainous and disadvantaged areas

• In Cyprus, the Ministry of the Interior launched two complementary schemes in March to promote the attractiveness of mountainous, remote and disadvantaged areas by encouraging homeownership through financial incentives (i.e. economic support to build, purchase or renovate a home), especially for young couples. By the end of August 2021, 112 applications, totalling €4.9 million of governmental financial support, had been approved, almost exhausting the budget that the ministry had initially allocated to the schemes for 2021.

Romania: guaranteed minimum income scheme

• Over the period 2014-2020, the effectiveness and adequacy of the Romanian means-tested guaranteed minimum income scheme deteriorated. Recent legislative initiatives aim to improve the scheme by building in adequate work incentive structures and reducing the administrative burden, as well as by ensuring transparency in updating the scheme’s benefits and eligibility thresholds.  However, the success of the scheme will also depend on the adequacy of benefits, which has proved to be one of its weakest points.

The ESPN Flash Reports reflect the views only of the authors, and the European Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information they contain.