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Republic of Cyprus
History

The Office of the Commissioner for State Aid Control was set up in June 2001 as part of the harmonization process of Cypriot legislation with the acquis communautaire in the field of state aid.

On 8th of March 2001 the Public Aid Control Law was passed (Law 30(Ι)/2001) which entered into force on 30th April 2001 following the decision of the Council of Ministers no.53.538 dated 11th April 2001. This legislation incorporated Community law provisions into the Cyprus legal order that are directly effective in the EU Member States, for the monitoring of the application of which the European Commission - and not the Member States - is responsible.

The enactment of the Public Aid Control Law was followed by secondary legislation in the form of regulations which provided for the criteria of approval of the granting of state aid to various sectors.

On 1st June 2001 the Council of Ministers, in consultation with the Parliamentary Committee of Foreign and European Affairs, appointed Mr. Christos Andreou as the Commissioner for State Aid Control for six years.

With the recruitment of the required professional and administrative personnel to the Office, intensive efforts were devoted in order to conclude the Chapter on Competition within the tight time limits set by the European Commission.

In June 2002, a year after the establishment of the Office, with all the requirements set by the European Commission having been fulfilled (i.e. necessary legislative framework, adequate administrative capacity and credible enforcement record on the effective application of the acquis on Competition) the Chapter on Competition was provisionally closed, with regard to both state aid and anti-trust matters.

As provided by the Law, by 30th March 2003, the assessment of all existing aid schemes / individual aid was completed.

On 29th April 2004 the State Aid Control (Amendment) Law of 2004 was passed. The role of the Commissioner was reviewed and his title was changed from Commissioner for Public Aid to Commissioner for State Aid Control.

It is worth noting that the Office, when necessary, cooperates with the European Institute of Public Administration in Maastricht according to a bilateral agreement. It should also be noted that the Office is in regular contact and cooperates closely with the Directorate-General Competition of the European Commission.


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Office of the Commissioner for State Aid Control