The European Commission approved 225 reform projects that will be supported under the Technical Support Instrument (TSI), Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms, Elisa Ferreira announced on Tuesday.

Eight of these projects deal with reforms in Cyprus, in the areas of building renovation, digital finance, accrual accounting, financial literacy, renewable energy sources and public administration.

Through these 225 projects, the Commission will support Member States in preparing, designing and implementing reforms that will lead to modern and resilient public administrations, sustainable growth strategies and resilient economies while enhancing their capacity to react to current and future crises.

These reforms are supported by the TSI with a total budget of €116.8 million for the year 2022. The TSI is a demand-driven instrument that puts froward tailor-made expertise. It is also a flexible instrument that can quickly be adapted to Member States` emerging needs, upon their request.

As noted in a press release by the Commission, several of these reform projects are also included in the national Recovery and Resilience Plans.

“The Technical Support Instrument will continue to support Member States and regions in achieving reforms that can improve their resilience, support their growth strategies, prepare for the twin, digital and green transitions and ensure efficient and agile public administrations” Ferreira said in a statement.

The list of projects that have been approved for Cyprus include: the customisation and implementation of the financial reporting and consolidation tool for the transition to accrual accounting, the setting up of an examination centre for the Cyprus Public Service Commission, technical support for modernizing the organisational structure and operational governance of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, support on aspects for deploying Renewable Energy Sources and the effective opening of the electricity market in Cyprus, support to building renovation, the implementation of the national strategy for the enhancement of financial literacy in Cyprus, as well as the participation of Cyprus in the EUSDFA project which involves training for employees of the Central Bank of Cyprus and the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission on digital finance.

About 36% of the requests for project support from all over the European Union are focused on Green Deal objectives and 51% on the digital transition. Furthermore, 57% of the selected requests for TSI support for 2022 are linked to reforms under the Recovery and Resilience Plans of Member States.

Also, 50% of the requests are linked to flagship projects for the EU, such as tourism, renovation wave, gender mainstreaming, public administration and migrant integration, while 30% of the requests are multi-country or multi-region projects.

In the case of Cyprus in particular, two out of the eight projects that have been approved are multi-country/ multi-region projects.