Government would be ready to take more measures against rising prices, FinMin says

Minister of Finance Makis Keravnos has said that the government is constantly taking measures against rising prices adding that when necessary it will be ready to take additional measures.

The Minister of Finance also said that Cyprus is obliged to start repaying a loan of €6.5 billion, which must be repaid by 2030, while by the end of 2026, it must satisfy the financial requirements in terms of public debt and fiscal deficit indicators.

Invited to comment on the position of the trade unions and the pressures to take measures against rising prices, Keravnos said that these issues are not resolved through pressure but through rationality and emphasised that the economy must be maintained in a correct fiscal balance. 

"Any suggestion from anyone, including the trade union movement, is welcome and we are ready to study it," he added.

Furthermore, he said that rising prices and inflation are not a Cypriot phenomenon, but a global one and especially a European one, since, as he noted, in the heart of Europe there is a terrible war that has many negative effects on the economy and society.

The Minister of Finance also said that "in the context of this uncertainty and the fiscal balance, which must be maintained in surplus, the government is constantly taking measures" and added that there are many measures, that are in force, and that the government is constantly monitoring the developments and will be ready when necessary to take additional measures.

Noting that the international institutions insist that the measures should not be horizontal and that the trade unions are asking for measures to reduce fuel prices which is a horizontal measure, Keravnos said that "the measures should be mainly targeted and concern the most vulnerable groups of the population and those groups of society who are in real need".

"The government is analysing and deciding within the framework of both the EU supervisory organizations and the European Commission", he said and recalled that "we are obliged to start repaying (by 2030) a loan of 6.5 billion euros".

He also said that Cyprus, is obliged, as a member state, until the end of 2026 to meet the financial requirements in terms of debt and deficit indicators".

"We must study the issues in depth and practice a balanced economic and social policy," he underlined.

(Source: CNA)