The €5 million state-of-the-art haemodialysis unit in Paphos, inaugurated on Friday by President Nikos Christodoulides and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, is solid proof of the importance of solidarity, the president said.
Speaking at the event, von der Leyen said the Commission continued to stand by Cyprus and that much more could be achieved through funding from NextGenerationEU.
Christodoulides praised the role of the EU in projects that shape citizens’ lives, noting that this was a unit that was made possible under Cyprus’ recovery and resilience plan, along with national funding.
The unit, which has been in operation for the past few months, is a project that will contribute to improving the quality of life of hundreds of citizens, the president said.
He added that the unit was “solid proof of how important it is to join forces, how great the idea of solidarity is and how much more hopeful our future as a European Union is when it is founded on the cooperation of partners with shared values and principles to tackle common challenges and achieving common goals.”
Christodoulides said von der Leyen’s presence sent a message that “the EU is not just a vague or general idea, but an organisation that is becoming stronger due to the unity of its member states, able to contribute actively, substantially and decisively to the improvement of all aspects of the daily life of European citizens and in particular in areas that touch the daily life of the Cypriot citizens.”
The Commission president said the new unit meant “closer and easier access to care”, adding she was happy that the NextGenerationEU funding scheme could contribute to this.
“Indeed, NextGenerationEU is Europe’s massive funding programme. It supports reforms and investments like never before, all across Europe,” she said.
She added that the EU has invested close to €4 million in the haemodialysis unit.
“With your €1 billion from NextGenerationEU, there are many more success stories to be written,” von der Leyen said, adding that the Commission continued to stand by Cyprus.
