The Director-General of the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy, , Themis Christofidou, speaking at the Cyprus Forum.
As Ms. Christofidou noted, through the cohesion policy, €13 million is being invested in mechanical engineering research laboratory facilities at the University of Cyprus, while €30 million is being directed toward a project to develop new business activity, which is expected to lead to the creation of approximately 800 new businesses and more than 1,600 jobs.
ΣΧΕΤΙΚΑ ΑΡΘΡΑ
At the same time, he mentioned investments of nearly €3 million for the restoration of three historic municipal buildings in Limassol, €2 million for Salina Municipal Park in Larnaca, and €44 million for upgrading public passenger transportation infrastructure and the transition to electric vehicles.
At the same time, nearly €2 million has been invested in the “Evagoras” integrated information system for the development of digital municipal services, as Ms. Christofidou added.
The European Commission’s Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy focused on the EU initiative regarding the “right to stay,” for which the Commission is preparing a strategy expected to be presented in early 2027.
As he noted, one in three Europeans—nearly 150 million people—lives in a region that has experienced population decline over the past two decades, while a similar number live in regions that have experienced economic decline, with young and skilled workers often forced to leave their hometowns due to a lack of jobs, opportunities, and services.
The strategy will focus on creating the conditions that allow citizens to build their future where they live, through quality jobs, education, infrastructure, public services, transportation, and digital connectivity, while more than 700 suggestions from stakeholders were submitted during the relevant consultation.
