The Cyprus Presidency of the EU Council is striving to promote all pending issues in the sectors of European economic governance and is intensifying efforts to promote entrepreneurship, President of the Republic Demetris Christofias said on Thursday.
In an address at the European Entrepreneurship award ceremony in Limassol, read out by Minister of Commerce, Industry and Tourism Neoclis Sylikiotis, President Christofias said the Cypriots have placed many hopes on entrepreneurship “when we faced a problem of survival due to the destruction brought about by the invasion of Turkish troops in 1974 and the occupation of 37% of the territory of the Republic of Cyprus.”
He said the current financial environment in Europe was not favourable due to the deep socioeconomic crisis, adding that this was “an opportunity to reevaluate the existing `production model` and the policies we must apply, despite the shrinking of our public finances and our inability to intervene in the market.”
President Christofias referred to the Cyprus Presidency`s efforts to promote entrepreneurship as part of a European strategy for competitiveness and growth, giving priority to a strong, smart, viable and without exclusions development, based on healthy public finances, structural reforms and investments in order to boost competitiveness.
He also referred to small and medium-sized businesses, saying that their main challenge was access to financing, and noted that the action plans contribute to the right direction and that the spearhead was strategy Europe 2020, which aims at recovering from the financial crisis and moving to a renewed development and growth model for the European economy, strengthening synergy between economic, social and environmental dimensions.
President Christofias furthermore noted the Compact for Growth and Jobs, adopted by the European Council in June, as well as the Small Business Act, and assured that the Cyprus Presidency was working to promote a well-functioning digital common market.
