The European Commission on Friday announced the launch of the EU Scholarship Programme for the Turkish Cypriot community for the Academic Year 2025/26, funded under the Aid Programme.

It said that with a budget of €5 million, the programme continued to provide opportunities in various areas and levels of education, training and professional development for the Turkish Cypriot community in the European Union.

“The overall aim remains to contribute to the reunification of the island,” it said.

“With this additional funding, the total budget allocated to this initiative has reached €43 million to date,” it added.

In 2025, this flagship programme will continue to support students, professionals and adult learners across the community, significantly contributing to the objective of the Aid Programme to bring the Turkish Cypriot community closer to the EU, the Commission said.

The scholarship programme also aims to contribute to the economic development of the community by fostering knowledge and developing hard and soft skills in priority areas such as software engineering, green technologies, and other fields aligned with the labour market needs.

“These efforts align with the EU’s commitment to empowering individuals to participate fully in the digital economy, thereby contributing to overall economic growth, and supporting the 2025 European Year of Digital Citizenship Education,” the announcement added.

In addition to the general call, the programme includes the Alumni Connect initiative that aims to connect the approximately 2,300 Turkish Cypriots who have benefited from the scholarships since 2007.

During the 2024/25 Academic Year, around 140 Turkish Cypriots benefited from the EU Scholarship for pursuing their education in 19 different member states on a variety of subjects including medicine, urban design and sustainable revitalisation, sustainable production development, and European Union studies plus human rights.

Applications for the new programme opened on Friday. The deadline for submission is April 2 at 11.59pm Cyprus time.

All interested applicants are invited to apply online via the EU Scholarships website www.euburs.eu

For more information, visit the website or send emails to: [email protected] 

The EU Scholarships Programme is fully funded by the EU and is implemented by the Goethe-Institut since 2022.