Progress in Implementing the European Union Coordinated Plan on Artificial Intelligence (Volume 1): Cyprus
Table of contents
The European Union (EU) Coordinated Plan on Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a strategic initiative by the European Commission and EU Member States to promote AI development, investment and co-operation. In 2024, the OECD conducted a survey and interviews to take stock of implementation progress made by the EU Member States in implementing the actions set in the EU Coordinated Plan on AI. Drawing on the information collected, the OECD prepared country notes for each EU Member State. This document presents the country note for Cyprus, which summarises key initiatives and implementation progress.
Cyprus is currently reviewing its artificial Intelligence (AI) strategy: The current strategy is focused on maximising investments through partnerships, creating national data spaces, cultivating talent, skills and lifelong learning, and developing ethical and reliable AI.
Current priority areas: These include tourism, energy, agriculture food, structured environment, construction, transport shipping, health, the environment and information and communication technology (ICT).
Cyprus is currently developing a data policy: Building on its Open Data Strategic Plan 2023‑2027, Cyprus is also participating in the European High Performance Computing Joint Undertaking (EuroHPC JU).
Cyprus is supporting innovation in AI through its European Digital Innovation Hub (EDIH), DiGiNN Cyprus.
Education on AI in Cyprus: The Human Resource Development Authority (HRDA) offers courses related to AI.
Cyprus has initiatives in place to use AI in healthcare and the public sector.
Cyprus is currently reviewing its AI strategy to move towards a more applied and effective approach, and account for the rise of generative AI.
The current strategy, under the purview of the Deputy Ministry of Research, Innovation and Digital Policy (DMRID), is built on four pillars: maximising investments through partnerships, creating national data spaces, cultivating talent, skills and lifelong learning, and developing ethical and reliable AI.
Current priority areas include tourism, energy, agriculture food, structured environment, construction, transport shipping, health, the environment and ICT.
While there is the Open Data Strategic Plan 2023-2027 in place, Cyprus is currently moving towards a holistic approach that will lead to a data policy. Cyprus is also participating in the EuroHPC JU.
DiGiNN, Cyprus’ EDIH, is co-funded by the EU Digital Europe Programme (DIGITAL) and the Cyprus DMRID through a national fund. DiGiNN brings together, under one roof in a structured service framework, Cyprus’ expertise in AI, HPC, cybersecurity and other advanced digital technologies by engaging the country’s centres of excellence and organisations addressing the twin green and digital transition.
Cyprus has an initiative in place to offer courses in AI.
Cyprus uses AI use in priority sectors, including healthcare and the public sector.
Cyprus’ health data governance framework is grounded in the goal of building a unified national health information system (Silvia Sementilli, Simona d’Auria and Angelo Rossi Mori, 2007[4]; Hellenic Government, 2019[5]). Cyprus made progress towards this goal with its e-Health Law of 2019, which established the National e-Health Authority (NeHA) and the centralised Single e-Health Records Bank (SeHRB) to improve interoperability, access to electronic health records and oversight of biomedical data storage and telemedicine (Government of Cyprus, 2019[6]). The NeHA centralises e-health efforts by managing the SeHRB, supporting cross-border digital healthcare and setting strategy, standards and funding, while collaborating with European Union (EU) counterparts and co‑ordinating with the Ministry of Health and the Medical Devices Authority on policies and medical device regulation, including AI (NEHA, 2024[7]). Complementing this, the General Health System (GHS), launched in 2020, utilises a comprehensive information technology (IT) platform to assist healthcare providers and users with tasks such as enrolment, medical record access, referrals and test results (EC, 2020[8]). Upon the launch of GHS, a training environment for healthcare providers was created (OUC, 2024[9]), highlighting upskilling and change management as key priorities, which will benefit AI development. Together, the e-Health law and the GHS initiative establish a secure, standardised health data framework vital for AI advancement in healthcare. However, the limited provisions for secondary data use for research and innovation present challenges to AI in health progress.
Cyprus is addressing gaps in health data governance, particularly in the secondary use of data, by participating in EU initiatives that enhance cross-border data sharing for both primary and secondary use. The country is working on improving interoperability by developing interface specifications and establishing registers for healthcare providers. Future plans include implementing regulatory frameworks for supervision to strengthen digital health infrastructure (DMRID, 2023[10]). Cyprus is also focusing on regional collaboration to drive innovation in the European Union’s southeast digital health landscape and expanding its role in the European Health Data Space (EHDS) (3ahealth, 2024[11]) Looking ahead, Cyprus will join the Transnational Health Service Network to offer services like medical history summaries, e-prescribing and e-prescriptions (NeHA, 2024[12]). These efforts highlight Cyprus’ commitment to creating a secure, standardised and collaborative digital health environment, providing a strong foundation for AI development in healthcare. By enabling health data sharing and outlining provisions for its secondary use, Cyprus creates opportunities for AI developers to access larger datasets to train their models, improving model accuracy and effectiveness.
References
[11] 3ahealth (2024), VELES Excellence Hub Will Drive Innovation in South-East Europe’s Smart Healthcare Sector, https://www.3ahealth.com/veles-excellence-hub-will-drive-innovation-in-south-east-europes-smart-healthcare-sector/ (accessed on 22 November 2024).
[2] DiGiNN (2024), About Us, https://www.diginn.eu/.
[10] DMRID (2023), National Digital Decade Strategic Roadmap, Deputy Ministry of Research, Innovation and Digital Policy, Republic of Cyprus, https://www.gov.cy/media/sites/13/2024/04/DD-2030-Cyprus-Report_final.docx.pdf.
[8] EC (2020), “New IT system enables the launch of Cyprus’ new general health system”, European Commission, https://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/en/projects/Cyprus/new-it-system-enables-the-launch-of-cyprus-new-general-health-system (accessed on 22 November 2024).
[1] Euro CC Cyprus (2025), Welcome to the Cyprus National Competence Center (NCC) Website for the EuroCC2 Project, https://eurocc.cyi.ac.cy/.
[6] Government of Cyprus (2019), The e-Health Law of 2019 (59(I)/2019).
[5] Hellenic Government (2019), Ministry of Health: Strategic Plan 2020-2022 (Υπουργείο Υγείας: Στρατηγικό Σχέδιο 2020-2022), Ministry of Health, https://extranet.who.int/countryplanningcycles/sites/default/files/public_file_rep/CYP_Cyprus_Health-Strategic-plan_2020-2022.pdf (accessed on 22 November 2024).
[3] HRDA (n.d.), Καλώς Ήλθατε στην ΑνΑΔ, https://www.anad.org.cy/.
[7] NEHA (2024), National eHealth Authority, Greek National eHealth Authority, https://www.neha.org.cy/en/ (accessed on 22 November 2024).
[12] NeHA (2024), “European Health Union and the Roadmap for the implementation of eHealth in Cyprus”, National e-Health Authority, Cyprus, https://www.neha.org.cy/en/european-health-union-and-the-ehealth-roadmap-for-cyprus/ (accessed on 22 November 2024).
[9] OUC (2024), Applied Health Informatics and Telemedicine, Open University of Cyprus, https://www.ouc.ac.cy/index.php/en/studies/master/studies-degrees-master-ept (accessed on 22 November 2024).
[4] Silvia Sementilli, Simona d’Auria and Angelo Rossi Mori (2007), eHealth Strategy and Implementation Activities in Cyprus, https://interoperable-europe.ec.europa.eu/sites/default/files/document/2014-12/eHealth%20strategy%20and%20implementation%20activities%20in%20Cyprus%20-%20Report%20in%20the%20framework%20of%20the%20eHealth%20ERA%20project.pdf (accessed on 22 November 2024).
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Note by the Republic of Türkiye
The information in this document with reference to “Cyprus” relates to the southern part of the Island. There is no single authority representing both Turkish and Greek Cypriot people on the Island. Türkiye recognises the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC). Until a lasting and equitable solution is found within the context of the United Nations, Türkiye shall preserve its position concerning the “Cyprus issue”.
Note by all the European Union Member States of the OECD and the European Union
The Republic of Cyprus is recognised by all members of the United Nations with the exception of Türkiye. The information in this document relates to the area under the effective control of the Government of the Republic of Cyprus.
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The full book is available in English: OECD (2025), Progress in Implementing the European Union Coordinated Plan on Artificial Intelligence (Volume 1): Member States’ Actions, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/533c355d-en.
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