Cyprus will by next week lodge to the EU an application for financial assistance over the damage inflicted to the island by the July 11 blast in naval base in Mari, in the southeast coast of the island, killing 13 persons, the shockwave of which destroyed Cyprus` main power station in nearby Vasiliko, Head of the Planning Bureau Giorgos Georgiou said on Tuesday.

Speaking to CNA, Georgiou said the Bureau will submit an application for assistance from the EU Solidarity Fund and will be invoking the EU Treaty article 122 which provides for EU financial assistance to member-states facing difficulties “in the supply of certain products, notably in the area of energy,“ which takes place for the first time in the EU.

“The application for assistance from the Solidarity Fund will be submitted before the September 19 deadline,“ Georgiou told CNA, adding that the Bureau “would like to be absolutely sure on the integrity of the application.“

According to the Fund`s rules, the application should be submitted no later than ten weeks after the first damage caused by the disaster