“Cyprus is one of the countries that has taken the most drastic measures due to rising prices,” said Finance Minister Konstantinos Petridis, but expressed concern about the possibility of keeping prices high and described the crisis as very different from the pandemic./p>
In statements after the Business Forum “Business in Times of Crisis”, organized by the Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Famagusta and Piraeus, the Minister noted that we are entering a new economic era and stressed the need for the public to maintain some resilience due to uncertainty that exists.
We are one of the countries that took the most drastic measures
Asked to comment on the increases in the whole range of products, the Minister said that several measures have been taken, but stressed that “unfortunately we can not kill inflation” which is a pan-European phenomenon due to several reasons including war but not only .
He said that so far there has been support of over 160 million euros through several programs, such as through the reduction of excise tax, the reduction of VAT from 19% to 10% horizontally and from 19% to 5% for the most vulnerable, there was an increase in the allowance for the highlands due to the accuracy of the oil by 50% and emergency support was given to farmers due to the grain situation.
He stressed that Cyprus is one of the two countries that maintains the institution of ATA, which compensates for inflation by about 50%.
“If we put all this down we are from the countries where we took the most drastic measures “, said the Minister but expressed concern for the possibility of keeping the prices at high levels.
He said that we are entering a new economic era and noted that it is very important for the public to maintain some resilience due to the uncertainty that exists.
Asked if there is a chance to ask some help from the EU, he replied “there is no help from the EU”.
This crisis is different from the pandemic crisis
Asked to comment on a letter from the CCCI to the President of the Republic, requesting the extension of the state guarantee plan and the suspension of installments, the Minister said that there is no issue of suspension of installments at European level, “they are over, I think the CCCI knows it”.
“We will look at their letters but this crisis is very different from the crisis of the pandemic that fiscal policy has kept businesses, so we have not seen bankruptcy of businesses, we have not seen unemployment “, he added.
He said the government would be very cautious about support, saying that those most affected by inflation were the vulnerable groups, “so we need to look at the social meaning of politics.”
< p class = "text-paragraph"> There are, he said, hundreds of millions of euros in the budget that help businesses, and especially in terms of their fossil fuel recovery plans, with photovoltaics with a range of measures.
< p class = "text-paragraph">“Businesses need to take these steps so that as soon as possible these savings required by energy dependence occur,” he continued.
The forum is very important
Referring to the business forum, he described it as very important, saying that it demonstrates the strengthening of ties between not only the two chambers but also the two countries.
Two countries, he said, which in recent years in times of crisis have shown their resilience.
“We refuted the forecasts because We love business and because we favor business and in this context the business ties of the two countries are now strengthening. “Because in the new context of the green transition that we are going through, there are many possibilities for cooperation between the private sector, companies and it is those who cultivate these forums with Greece, there are many perspectives”, he concluded.
