AKEL proposed not to include subsidies from the Cyprus Agricultural Payments Organization when calculating child benefits

The AKEL bill on the protection of child benefits and single-parent allowances was discussed today in the Labor Committee of the House of Representatives in Cyprus, chaired by MP Androu Kafkalia.

According to the presenters, the aim of the proposal is to exclude from family income, used to calculate these benefits, subsidies paid by the Cyprus Agricultural Payments Organization (CAPO), including investment measures and first-establishment measures for young farmers.

Androu Kafkalia noted that the state simultaneously stimulates agriculture and thus risks depriving support to those receiving subsidies, reducing or canceling their entitlement to child benefits. According to him, CAPO subsidies cover capital costs and do not constitute actual income.

The bill emphasizes that child benefits are linked to other allowances, such as education, food, and transport subsidies, making their protection important for recipients.

The proposal received support from the parties present, including agricultural associations, the Pan-Cyprian Organization of Large Families, the Pan-Cyprian Organization of Five-Member Families, and trade unions. The Committee gave the government three weeks to present its final position.