Welcoming Speech by the Commissioner Mr. Costas Petrides
Dear Participants
I would like to begin by welcoming you to Cyprus. The 4th Conference of Paying Agencies of the New Member States is being organized by the Cyprus Agricultural Payments Organisation (CAPO), an initiative I took because I strongly believe these conferences consist a collective venue for us to congregate and exchange ideas on the uniquely important topics we face daily. Any concerns, findings and conclusions that may arise from the discussions may well be presented and discussed further during the meetings of relevant EU Committees. Being new to the EU, and the implementation of the Common Agricultural Policy present challenges to all of us and this conference will help us address some of them.
The exchange of ideas and experiences can also prove to be valuable and may result in other mutual benefits.
The Cyprus Agricultural Payments Organisation was founded according to EU Regulation 1258/99, to manage the payment of EAGGF funds and other national aid in the Agricultural sector. Within the scope of Cyprus’ preparations to enter the European Union, on June 27th 2003, the House of Representatives enacted Law No. 64(I) 2003 entitled “The Establishment and Operation of the Agricultural Payments Organisation and other Related Matters Law”.
According to this Law, CAPO is an independent legal entity that does not come under any Ministry or Department of the Government. It was established and it operates as an autonomous public organisation based on its own legislation that provides it with valuable flexibility, to respond effectively to the stringent standards and time limits set by the Community.
CAPO started being setup in September 2003, when the Commissioner and the Assistant Commissioner were appointed by the Council of Ministers. In December 2003, CAPO had five (5) employees, including the Commissioner and the Assistant Commissioner, in December 2004 this number was 187 and in December 2005 the Organization numbered 246 employees. At the same time as going through the first stage of full-scale recruitment in spring of 2004, it also started implementing the Area Payments Scheme for 2004. The Organization proceeded with the first payments to the farmers from national aid in June 2004 and the first payments from EAGGF Funds in December 2004. For all the schemes implemented we have so far paid out about 120 million Cyprus Pounds, out of which more than 41 million Cyprus Pounds were paid from EAGGF Funds.
According to Law 64(I) 2003, the Organisation may delegate the authorization of payments of any measure. CAPO signed agreements with seven delegated bodies by which, part of the authorization of payments of certain measures was transferred to the delegated bodies. These functions are carried out under the supervision of CAPO, which still has the responsibility for the actual payments.
CAPO’s policy in the area of Customer Service includes the prompt and complete serving of our farmers, as near as possible to their region of origin. For this purpose, the Organization has set up district offices in Nicosia, Limassol, Larnaca, Pitsilia, Famagusta and Paphos. CAPO’s district offices carry out the distribution and collection of applications, the acceptance, data entry, and visual checks of the relevant data and part of the authorization of payments procedure.
CAPO’s Mission is to be an appropriately organized and effective body, with an extremely high sense of responsibility for accurate and on-time payments towards our agricultural community.
CAPO’s Vision is to have its own impact and be respected in Cyprus and the European Union.
Dear colleagues
The high level of participation in this conference indicates the interest we share to generate specific ideas on how we can improve existing procedures in practice and implement the regulations that govern our operations as effectively and efficiently as possible, and more importantly to ensure that the farmer benefits from them.
In order to meet the numerous and evolving challenges in the European environment we need to strengthen the effectiveness of the conference, and therefore I urge you to take advantage of this opportunity and participate in the discussions that will take place these two days. I hope this conference brings to the surface many issues and that each one of you will reap the maximum possible benefit. I also hope you enjoy the Cypriot hospitality and our good weather.