President discusses IMF's recommendations for Cyprus and announces upcoming decisions

The recommendations of the International Monetary Fund’s report for Cyprus confirm the government’s responsible fiscal policy, President Nikos Christodoulides said ahead of the opening of the 15th Nicosia Economic Congress taking place in Nicosia.

As he noted, many of the IMF's suggestions are already part of the government's and the Ministry of Finance’s plans, adding that the reports of both the IMF and the European Commission are always taken into account “with one sole aim, to strengthen the resilience of the Cypriot economy”.

He added that upon reading the recommendations, “it is confirmed that the government’s responsible fiscal policy, if we hadn’t followed it—especially considering all current developments and the unstable environment—our country would definitely be in a significantly more difficult position to deal with the challenges that might arise.”

“We do not demonise the recommendations, we do not reject them—many of them are our own initiatives, which we have already begun implementing,” he noted, adding that the Council of Ministers will move forward with decisions, and where legislative measures are needed, they will be promoted to the House of Representatives.

Asked whether the recommendation regarding the 13th salary is a concern, President Christodoulides said that it is not a concern for the government, adding that “there are many other things that need to be done first, which we are already working on”.

Among the IMF’s core recommendations in a recently published study are the elimination of the 13th salary, the discontinuation or adjustment of the Automatic Indexation Allowance (ATA), and the end of automatic annual pay increments in the public and broader public sector. This has stirred political and union tensions in Cyprus.