Justice and Public Order Minister Costas Fytiris will present a formal proposal to the Council of Ministers this afternoon to establish an independent Cyprus Coast Guard, philenews sources say.
The proposal sets out the operating model for the new service, identifies the departments to be brought under its umbrella and includes related legislation to be sent to parliament. The bills are needed because the units earmarked for the Coast Guard — including the Police Marine Unit, the Police Helicopter Squadron, the Department of Fisheries and Marine Research and the Hydrographic Service — currently fall under different ministries. Legislation will be required to transfer them.
The Coast Guard will be responsible for surveillance, law enforcement and control from the coastline to the outer limits of Cyprus’s Exclusive Economic Zone and Search and Rescue region.
To manage the transfer of assets and personnel, the proposal envisages the establishment of a transition committee drawing on officers from all involved departments, with the aim of making the handover as smooth and swift as possible.
Fytiris announced the initiative last month following an inter-ministerial meeting, saying the primary objective was to strengthen coordination and effectiveness in maritime surveillance and security while achieving the best possible results in the shortest time and at the lowest cost to the state.
The project is expected to be largely funded by EU money, with the head of the new service to be someone with broad expertise across the areas it will cover.
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