Transport ministry opposes Makarios Avenue changes that could trigger EU fund repayment

Nicosia, Cyprus. The transport ministry opposes any change to Makarios Avenue that could require the repayment of EU funds, the House transport committee heard on Thursday. Evi Anagiotou, the ministry’s head of sustainable mobility, said she was relaying the position of Transport Minister Evi Tsolaki, who has ruled out changes that risk a refund.

Municipal proposal

Anagiotou said the ministry was waiting for Nicosia municipality to send its studies. She was responding to committee chairman and Elam MP Sotiris Ioannou, who asked whether the ministry agreed to reopen the avenue.

The Nicosia council voted last year to open Makarios Avenue to all vehicles with two-way traffic from 7am to 9pm on weekdays. Only authorised vehicles would be allowed at other times and at weekends.

EU funding conditions

The EU co-financed the €24.7 million redevelopment of the commercial triangle, Makarios Avenue and Stasikratous Street. The European Commission has warned that changes breaching the project’s sustainable mobility conditions could lead to the recovery of part of the funding.

Alexios Constantinides, of the finance ministry’s European directorate, said a publicly cited figure of €21.6 million also covered Stasikratous Street, while Makarios Avenue itself received €11 million. He said the project had been completed successfully and that the five-year period began in 2025.

Changes judged to affect the nature of the co-financing would prompt an assessment of a refund, Constantinides said, although “there is no precise criterion”. He described the auditors negotiators would face as “tough and inflexible” and said studies from the municipality would make their task significantly easier.