Regarding the Cohesion Fund — the cashbox that funded this project back in 2015 — he said the “first level of controls … is under the responsibility of the audit body of the spending Directorate General.”
OLAF would get involved “should any specific suspicions of fraud be identified” and the Commission “closely follows up” by either blocking payments or “clawing back expenditure if the fraud is confirmed,” Ujvari said.
On the specific case, Stefan de Keersmaecker, Commission spokesperson for Cohesion Policy and Reforms, confirmed the Commission was “in close contact with the Cypriot authorities who are actively working to resolve deficiencies identified with the project.”
Since the Cohesion fund is governed by a principle of shared management between Brussels and EU countries, “it is first up to the managing authority” in Cyprus “to correct any irregularities detected, and then, if necessary, the Commission,” he added.
The waste story
From 2017 to 2023, Medcon & DB Technologies was mandated to operate a waste treatment plant in Limassol, to sort, treat and recycle municipal waste and to burn some of the waste to make fuel.
One of the conditions for receiving EU funding was that the Cypriot government would find buyers for that fuel.