Cypriot Municipalities for “Europe 2020” Strategy – 10/03/2011

/in

A meeting was held in Brussels on the 8th of March, between the Permanent Representatives of the 27 EU Member States and the Heads of the National Delegations to the Committee of the Regions (CoR), at the invitation of Mrs. Mercedes Bresso, President of the CoR.

On behalf of Cyprus, the meeting was attended by Mr. Georgios Georgiou, Mayor of Kato Polemidia and Head of Cyprus Delegation to the CoR, and Mr. Andreas Mavroyiannis, Permanent Representative of the Republic of Cyprus to the European Union.

This discussion focused on the CoR proposal that “Europe 2020” has to be implemented in each member state through a Territorial Pact, which is an agreement between a country’s various tiers of government (local, regional, national). Parties signing up to a Territorial Pact commit themselves to coordinate their policy agendas in order to focus their actions and financial resources on the “Europe 2020” Strategy goals and targets.

Ms Bresso, after presenting a summary of recent discussions gave the floor to Mr. Peter Gyorkos, Permanent Representative of Hungary and five other delegations, which referred to good practices in this area. Mr. Gyorkos stressed that through territorial pacts begins a new era for regional policy and the majority of delegations said that “Europe 2020” Strategy is intended not only to overcome the economic crisis but also to lay the foundations for sustainable growth.

Each EU Member Country has to submit its National Reform Programme for “Europe 2020” by the end of April 2011. The NRP will set the country’s national targets, how it will implement the flagship initiatives and act to remove bottlenecks preventing growth.

SUSTAIN: Follow-up of the DECISIVE project – 17/03/2011

/in

The Sustain project counts already 3 months of life. The idea for the project was based on a series of observations: Both the Union of Cyprus Municipalities and the Local Union of Municipalities and Communities of prefecture Chios (TEDK Chios) represent geographical areas with similar characteristics: islands in external EU borders, with a small population, small number of municipalities and the same language.

Regarding their involvement in European programs, the municipalities-members of the two associations have the same problems, the lack of qualified personnel being the most basic of them. On the other hand, the two associations have competitive advantages that complement each other extremely well: TEDK Chios has long experience in supporting members for participation in European projects, while the Union of Cyprus Municipalities through its Brussels office, has access to information and has created networks of partners across Europe. Their common participation in 2010 in the DECISIVE project, which has trained volunteers and municipal personnel for creating and managing Town Twinning, showed that the involvement of volunteers / citizens is necessary, but cannot have the expected results, unless based on well-trained personnel from the municipalities, which will be able to guide the volunteers and create the necessary links with Local Authorities.

Thanks to the DECISIVE project, each Cypriot municipality already has one officer able to deal with Town Twinning. In the framework of the SUSTAIN project, these people will be invited to cooperate with their Greek counterparts from TEDK Chios and learn from their experiences. All participants will attend three training sessions (one in Chios, one in Cyprus and one in Brussels) with the target to develop their skills.

As it is already known, the DECISIVE project was funded through the “Measure 2.2. Support Measures” of the Europe for Citizens program. This measure is a tool to develop the quality of projects submitted within Action 1 “Active Citizens for Europe”.

It also supports the exchange of experiences, expertise and good practices, as well as activities which may lead to the establishment of long-lasting partnerships and networks.

Support measures appear in a variety of forms, such as:

  • Consultancy to provide practical advice for preparing and running good quality projects (from application procedures to internal evaluation of projects).
  • Training sessions which enable those responsible for town twinning activities to develop their knowledge of the concept and practice of town twinning and to better understand and work within the European context.
  • National or trans-national events promoting the concept of town twinning amongst local authorities.
  • Tools facilitating partner search and networking as well as raising awareness and interest in town twinning, for example through publications, audiovisual materials and websites.
  • Exchanges of best practices and the accumulation of experience in supporting town twinning in Europe.

For more information, please visit: http://eacea.ec.europa.eu/citizenship/index_en.php.

Developing the Leadership and Administrative Capacity of Cypriot Local Authorities – 31/03/2011

/in

A press conference was recently held in the premises of the Ministry of Finance of Cyprus, in connection with the launch of the project “Education for Development of the Administrative and Leadership Skills of Local Authorities”. The conference was organized by the Cyprus Academy of Public Administration (CAPA) of the Ministry of Finance.

The project has been designed and jointly implemented by the Cyprus Academy of Public Administration, the Union of Cyprus Municipalities and the Union of Cyprus Communities. Therefore, in the activities of the project there is an active participation of Mayors and Municipal Councillors, Community Council Presidents and Members, Municipal and Community Personnel and legal entities supervised by them, executives of the Union of Cyprus Municipalities and the Union of Communities and officers of the CAPA.

The project aims to strengthen the administrative and leadership capacity of Cypriot local government, through educational programs and by providing support to executives, elected or not.

At the beginning of the conference, the Minister of Finance, Mr. Harilaos Stavrakis sent a greeting, stating the following: “The project is expected to bring multiple and significant benefits for the Local Government, but also for the citizens.

Through the Educational Program, the leaders of municipalities and communities will be provided with all necessary knowledge and skills enabling them to manage the affairs of their organizations independently and effectively.

The same officers will be able to create a new culture of lifelong learning in their organizations for continuous development and improvement. The final goal is to enable the Local Authorities to offer enlarged and quality enhanced services to the citizens”.

In his greeting, the President of the Union of Cyprus Municipalities, Mr. Andreas Christou, emphasized the importance of the project, stressing that “it is extremely important for municipalities and for communities, because by upgrading the skills of the personnel we improve the overall performance of the organizations and we improve the services offered to the Citizens”.

The project, presented to the Media by officers of CAPA, is funded by the European Social Fund and the Republic of Cyprus, as part of the activities of the National Strategic Reference Framework (NSRF) 2007-2013 of Cyprus and constitutes an intervention funded by the Operational Program “Employment, Human Capital and Social Cohesion”.

Cypriot Municipalities for “Europe 2020” Strategy – 10/03/2011

/in

A meeting was held in Brussels on the 8th of March, between the Permanent Representatives of the 27 EU Member States and the Heads of the National Delegations to the Committee of the Regions (CoR), at the invitation of Mrs. Mercedes Bresso, President of the CoR.

On behalf of Cyprus, the meeting was attended by Mr. Georgios Georgiou, Mayor of Kato Polemidia and Head of Cyprus Delegation to the CoR, and Mr. Andreas Mavroyiannis, Permanent Representative of the Republic of Cyprus to the European Union.

This discussion focused on the CoR proposal that “Europe 2020” has to be implemented in each member state through a Territorial Pact, which is an agreement between a country’s various tiers of government (local, regional, national). Parties signing up to a Territorial Pact commit themselves to coordinate their policy agendas in order to focus their actions and financial resources on the “Europe 2020” Strategy goals and targets.

Ms Bresso, after presenting a summary of recent discussions gave the floor to Mr. Peter Gyorkos, Permanent Representative of Hungary and five other delegations, which referred to good practices in this area. Mr. Gyorkos stressed that through territorial pacts begins a new era for regional policy and the majority of delegations said that “Europe 2020” Strategy is intended not only to overcome the economic crisis but also to lay the foundations for sustainable growth.

Each EU Member Country has to submit its National Reform Programme for “Europe 2020” by the end of April 2011. The NRP will set the country’s national targets, how it will implement the flagship initiatives and act to remove bottlenecks preventing growth.

 

SUSTAIN: Follow-up of the DECISIVE project – 17/03/2011

/in ,

The Sustain project counts already 3 months of life. The idea for the project was based on a series of observations: Both the Union of Cyprus Municipalities and the Local Union of Municipalities and Communities of prefecture Chios (TEDK Chios) represent geographical areas with similar characteristics: islands in external EU borders, with a small population, small number of municipalities and the same language.

Regarding their involvement in European programs, the municipalities-members of the two associations have the same problems, the lack of qualified personnel being the most basic of them. On the other hand, the two associations have competitive advantages that complement each other extremely well: TEDK Chios has long experience in supporting members for participation in European projects, while the Union of Cyprus Municipalities through its Brussels office, has access to information and has created networks of partners across Europe. Their common participation in 2010 in the DECISIVE project, which has trained volunteers and municipal personnel for creating and managing Town Twinning, showed that the involvement of volunteers / citizens is necessary, but cannot have the expected results, unless based on well-trained personnel from the municipalities, which will be able to guide the volunteers and create the necessary links with Local Authorities.

Thanks to the DECISIVE project, each Cypriot municipality already has one officer able to deal with Town Twinning. In the framework of the SUSTAIN project, these people will be invited to cooperate with their Greek counterparts from TEDK Chios and learn from their experiences. All participants will attend three training sessions (one in Chios, one in Cyprus and one in Brussels) with the target to develop their skills.

As it is already known, the DECISIVE project was funded through the “Measure 2.2. Support Measures” of the Europe for Citizens program. This measure is a tool to develop the quality of projects submitted within Action 1 “Active Citizens for Europe”.

It also supports the exchange of experiences, expertise and good practices, as well as activities which may lead to the establishment of long-lasting partnerships and networks.

Support measures appear in a variety of forms, such as:

  • Consultancy to provide practical advice for preparing and running good quality projects (from application procedures to internal evaluation of projects).
  • Training sessions which enable those responsible for town twinning activities to develop their knowledge of the concept and practice of town twinning and to better understand and work within the European context.
  • National or trans-national events promoting the concept of town twinning amongst local authorities.
  • Tools facilitating partner search and networking as well as raising awareness and interest in town twinning, for example through publications, audiovisual materials and websites.
  • Exchanges of best practices and the accumulation of experience in supporting town twinning in Europe.

For more information, please visit: http://eacea.ec.europa.eu/citizenship/index_en.php.

 

Developing the Leadership and Administrative Capacity of Cypriot Local Authorities – 31/03/2011

/in

A press conference was recently held in the premises of the Ministry of Finance of Cyprus, in connection with the launch of the project “Education for Development of the Administrative and Leadership Skills of Local Authorities”. The conference was organized by the Cyprus Academy of Public Administration (CAPA) of the Ministry of Finance.

The project has been designed and jointly implemented by the Cyprus Academy of Public Administration, the Union of Cyprus Municipalities and the Union of Cyprus Communities. Therefore, in the activities of the project there is an active participation of Mayors and Municipal Councillors, Community Council Presidents and Members, Municipal and Community Personnel and legal entities supervised by them, executives of the Union of Cyprus Municipalities and the Union of Communities and officers of the CAPA.

The project aims to strengthen the administrative and leadership capacity of Cypriot local government, through educational programs and by providing support to executives, elected or not.

At the beginning of the conference, the Minister of Finance, Mr. Harilaos Stavrakis sent a greeting, stating the following: “The project is expected to bring multiple and significant benefits for the Local Government, but also for the citizens.

Through the Educational Program, the leaders of municipalities and communities will be provided with all necessary knowledge and skills enabling them to manage the affairs of their organizations independently and effectively.

The same officers will be able to create a new culture of lifelong learning in their organizations for continuous development and improvement. The final goal is to enable the Local Authorities to offer enlarged and quality enhanced services to the citizens”.

In his greeting, the President of the Union of Cyprus Municipalities, Mr. Andreas Christou, emphasized the importance of the project, stressing that “it is extremely important for municipalities and for communities, because by upgrading the skills of the personnel we improve the overall performance of the organizations and we improve the services offered to the Citizens”.

The project, presented to the Media by officers of CAPA, is funded by the European Social Fund and the Republic of Cyprus, as part of the activities of the National Strategic Reference Framework (NSRF) 2007-2013 of Cyprus and constitutes an intervention funded by the Operational Program “Employment, Human Capital and Social Cohesion”.