Legislative amendments for the Cyprus Entrepreneurship Development Agency

The Cyprus Ministry of Finance is revising the draft law for the establishment of the Cyprus Entrepreneurship Development Agency (CEDA) to address parliamentary concerns and secure Recovery and Resilience Facility funding. Establishing the agency is a prerequisite for receiving between €50 million and €69 million in European funds, with a deadline set for the end of August. Parliamentary committee members successfully pushed for amendments, including the introduction of a 12-month transitional board of directors to bypass immediate 'fit and proper' evaluation requirements, which would otherwise delay the establishment process. The government and parliament have reached a consensus to adopt this transitional model before proceeding to a permanent board selection. Legislators also removed a provision that would have required the agency to hold equity in private companies before issuing loans. An updated draft is expected to be reviewed in an extraordinary parliamentary session, with a final plenary vote scheduled before the summer recess. This move ensures the state meets its commitments to Brussels while maintaining necessary oversight of the new semi-governmental organization.