European Commission Vice-President Jyrki Katainen, responsible for Jobs, Growth, Investment and Competitiveness, will visit Nicosia on Monday as part of his roadshow to promote the Investment Plan for Europe.
According to a Commission`s press release, Vice-President Katainen will meet President of the Republic of Cyprus Nicos Anastasiades and Minister of Finance Harris Georgiades as well as the President of the House of Representatives Yiannakis Omirou and Members of the Cypriot Parliament.
He will hold a citizens` dialogue with students at the University of Cyprus on the future of Europe. He will also visit The Cyprus Institute, a research and post-graduate education institution with a focus on science and technology, whose vision is to help transform Cyprus into a knowledge-based economy with the support of EU funds.
“I am very pleased to be visiting Cyprus to discuss the Investment Plan for Europe with government, students and local businesses. The Investment Plan is a great opportunity to help Cyprus on its road to recovery, and to provide jobs for people in Cyprus, and across Europe”, Katainen said ahead of his trip to Cyprus.
The Investment Plan for Europe will mobilise public and private investments of at least €315 billion over the next three years (2015-2017). Each Roadshow visit promotes the three elements of the Investment Plan for Europe:
(1) Mobilising Investment Finance. The Commission adopted the legislative proposal for the EFSI on 13 January. With strong political will from all EU institutions, the aim is to adopt the draft EFSI regulation by summer 2015 so that the EFSI can be established no later than September 2015 and funds can start flowing by the autumn.
(2) The new Project Pipeline. A portal on European Investment opportunities will be created to provide transparency to investors. A new technical assistance hub will help to ensure that projects are well-structured and comply with regulatory requirements.
(3) Regulatory reforms. The Commission is working to remove regulatory barriers to investment and strengthen the Single Market as set out in the Commission`s 2015 Work Programme. As a first important step in the context of removing barriers and increasing access to finance, notably for SMEs, the Commission adopted on 18 February a Green Paper on the Capital Markets Union launching a public consultation of all stakeholders.
CNA/AAR/2015
ENDS, CYPRUS NEWS AGENCY