EU helps resolve Cyprus problem

President of the European Commission Jose Manuel Barros met in Brussels Wednesday with Cypriot resident Nicos Anastasiades and several Cypriot ministers to discuss bilateral ties, energy and the Cyprus problem. "We have offered our support and made efforts to help all parties involved to solve the Cyprus issue. And our offer still stands today. It has not been possible so far to find a solution, but I believe now there is a genuine opportunity to reach a solution once and for all," Barroso told a joint press conference after the meeting. He announced that an extra 200 million euro was agreed as part of the future European Union budget for Cyprus. It should allow the country to invest in energy efficiency, support SMEs and create jobs . "The Commission is confident that the recent development of gas can contribute to restore sustainable economic growth and improve the security of energy supply for Cyprus and the whole European Union," said Barroso. "We recognise Cyprus' sovereign right to decide on the various aspects of the supply chain, but stress also the need to carry out a proper impact analysis for the investments to be made," he added. On his part, Anastasiades said his government is committed to fully implement the economic programme and intends to take all the necessary measure to this end. "In order to achieve this objective, we believe that it is necessary to further strengthen he relations between Cyprus and the EU Commission on the basis of mutual understanding ," he said. "I wish to express publicly my warmest thanks for the addition 200 million allocated for 2014 and 2015 from the fund of the EU, as well as the increase for the co financing rate for project in Cyprus from 60 percent to 95 percent, " he added.