The European Commission has adopted a €34 million EU Aid Programme for 2026 for the Turkish Cypriot community, funding projects linked to socio-economic development and Cyprus reunification.
The programme includes support to help the Turkish Cypriot community align with EU rules on food safety and animal health, including continued backing for the all-island Halloumi/Hellim Protected Designation of Origin scheme, the Commission revealed in a statement on Friday.
It also provides funding to strengthen small and medium-sized enterprises, promote innovation and expand trade opportunities, including trade across the Green Line — the UN-patrolled buffer zone that separates the island’s two communities.
Money in the package will also go to projects in energy, school infrastructure, and wastewater and waste treatment systems.
Scholarships, cultural heritage and missing persons
The Commission said the programme would continue support for the Technical Committee on Cultural Heritage and the Committee on Missing Persons, as well as other bicommunal technical committees and civil society organisations.
It also includes funding for two scholarship schemes: a bicommunal programme for Cypriot youth to attend United World Colleges, and a scholarship programme for Turkish Cypriots studying at universities across the EU.
More than €794 million has been allocated to the Aid Programme over the past 20 years.
