The European Union plans to provide as much as 208 million Euros to facilitate Turkish Cypriot economic growth in the first 3 years after EU membership. According to a report published yesterday by Reuters, the funds will constitute part of the regional aid the EU will give to candidate countries, which totals 25 billion Euros. The northern part of the island will receive all the funds that will be allotted to Cyprus, given the huge income disparities with the southern part. Greek Cypriot GDP per capital is at 82% of the average EU GDP, considerably higher than that of Greece and Portugal, and equal to that of Spain.

Last December, Finance Minister Takis Clerides announced that the Planning Bureau of the Finance Ministry has undertaken studies to determine how the northern part of island can utilize EU funds to accelerate economic growth, thereby decreasing the income disparities between north and south.