The European Funds Directorate (EFD) of the Ministry of Interior has been appointed as an Implementation Unit of the Managing Authority (Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment) and a Delegated Body of the Cyprus Agricultural Payments Organisation (CAPO) for Intervention S/N 4.4 “Public infrastructure in rural areas” of the 2023-2027 Common Agricultural Policy Strategic Plan, which is co-funded by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development.
The EFD had the same responsibilities within the 2007-2013 and 2014-2020 Rural Development Programmes as well.
The Designated Authority to execute payments and pay subsidies to Beneficiaries, is the Cyprus Agricultural Payments Organisation (CAPO) which checks the accurate implementation of the Intervention, through the Internal Audit Department and its Certifying Instrument. Audits are also conducted by the Auditor General of the Republic of Cyprus and the European Commission.
In brief, the main duties of the EFU as the Implementation Unit of Intervention 4.4 are the following:
- Providing information to the interested parties about all matters related to the Intervention.
- Receipt and processing of the proposals/applications, verification of the conditions for participation and the supporting documents and full administrative support for the Intervention.
- Evaluation process for the proposals, selection and incorporation into the Intervention.
- Monitoring of the course of implementation and completion of the Projects until the payment process of the Beneficiaries is completed.
- Conducting on-site technical, accounting and administrative audits of the Projects, and filling in the required checklists according to the Procedures Implementation Manual of the Intervention.
- Monitoring of the operation of the jointly funded Projects, through ex-post checks for a period of 5 years after approval of the final payment.
- Submission of information about the implementation of the Measure, to the Managing Authority of the Rural Development Programme in order to draft the Annual Report.
- Submission of the payment requests to the Commissioner of the Cyprus Agricultural Payments Organisation on behalf of the Beneficiaries, and submission of annual written reports about the progress of the implementation of the Intervention and the relevant audits which were conducted.
In 2016, within the framework of its responsibilities as an Implementation Unit for Rural Development Measures that concern infrastructure projects in rural areas, the EFD prepared the «Strategy for the Development of Municipalities and Communities in Rural Areas». The Strategy was essential in order to determine the evaluation criteria that were used to evaluate proposals submitted for new projects. The Strategy was updated twice, in 2020 and 2024.
2016 Στρατηγική ανάπτυξης για Δήμους και Κοινότητες της υπαίθρου.pdf
2020 - 1η Επικαιροποίηση Στρατηγικής.pdf
2024 - 2η Επικαιροποίηση Στρατηγικής.pdf