25/05/2023 09:05
Cyprus’ Ministry of Finance welcomed on Wednesday the upgrade of Cyprus in the context of European Semester Spring Package.
"The government welcomes the fact that the package of measures announced today by the European Commission in relation to the European Semester, which among other things includes its decisions regarding the macroeconomic imbalances procedure, upgrades Cyprus to a higher category," the Ministry notes in a press release.
It is pointed out that Cyprus is now classified as a country with "existence of macroeconomic imbalances" instead of "excessive macroeconomic imbalances" in 2022.
"We also welcome the fact that the EU is seeing a significant decline in non-performing loans ratio (NPLs), while predicting that the decline will continue," it is noted.
The Ministry also notes that the EU records that private debt, as a percentage of GDP, will continue to decrease, supported both by nominal GDP growth and by the deleveraging of households and businesses.
“At the same time the EU records that the public debt is steadily decreasing and is expected to decrease further in 2023 and 2024,” it adds.
The Ministry also notes that according to the Commission, measures implemented in the context of the national Resilience and Recovery contributed significantly in the improvement of the indicators.
Also, the Commission sees the end of the moratorium on foreclosures as positive, since it is expected to encourage borrowers to participate in restructuring their loans, leading to a further reduction in NPLs and freeing up resources to expand economic activity.
The government, the press release concludes, “will continue to promote measures to strengthen the competitiveness of the economy and expand the production base, ensuring macroeconomic stability and sustainability of public finances”.