Support measures expected in the coming week, Finance Minister says

New support measures will be submitted at next week’s meeting of the Council of Ministers, Cyprus’ Finance Minister, Makis Keravnos, has said.

Speaking on 15 February, he did not rule out the possibility of continuing with the staggered electricity subsidy, which was announced last October and expires at the end of this month.

Keravnos, who was replying to journalists’ questions on the sidelines of an event for the presentation of the new fiscal rules of the European Union, said that the Government of Nikos Christodoulides, supports vulnerable groups and middle-class households, and society in general, “which is experiencing the current crises and various problems”. Therefore, he added, the Ministry of Finance was preparing specific measures, which will be discussed at the Council of Ministers next week, while announcements would follow.

It is recalled that the fiscal impact of the measure currently in place was estimated at €45 million.

Asked if the measures will concern electricity or fuel, the Finance Minister said that expensive electricity was a big problem the country was facing. “So, this is our first priority”, he added.

Replying to a question, Keravnos said that already the measure applied for electricity is staggered, and therefore targeted and that this was among the priorities they were considering.

In relation to the issue of the appointment of the Governor of the Central Bank of Cyprus (CBC), since the incumbent’s five-year term is ending soon, Keravnos said that “we still have a long time ahead of us” and added that this was an issue the government will deal with in the coming days and weeks. The Minister recalled that the CBC Governor is appointed by the President of the Republic.

(Source: CNA)