The restructuring of the Cypriot welfare system

This chapter surveys the historical development and evolution of the Cypriot welfare system. While it outlines these trajectories from the establishment of the Republic of Cyprus in 1960, it places primary emphasis on the most recent 20 years. During this time, the article examines four distinct reform sequences and the multiple social risks that the government had to deal with and respond to during this period, through a set of changes in policy instruments and general social reforms. In this context, the chapter examines the accession process of Cyprus to the European Union from 1998 to 2004 characterised by the necessity of transformation as part of the harmonisation process, as well as the post-accession period until 2013 characterised by the impact of the global financial crisis and the Eurocrisis. It then turns to the subsequent imposition of the memorandum of understanding under the troika framework with the fundamental reconfiguration of the welfare system, the introduction of the guaranteed minimum income model in 2014, and the corresponding restructuring of welfare administration and centralisation. Lastly, it considers the post-MoU period with an analysis of current and future challenges, including impending measures, most prominently the implementation of a universal national health care plan by 2020.