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Finance Minister hopes economic package to pass unanimously

20/03/2020 09:15

Finance Minister Constantinos Petrides expressed hope on Thursday that the House will pass unanimously early next week the economic package of measures, aiming to offset the effects of the coronavirus epidemic, along with a second package of measures he prepares to stimulate liquidity.
 
Petrides was speaking after a meeting of the Council of political party leaders, that convened Thursday under the President of Cyprus Nicos Anastasiades, at the Presidential Palace.
 
Petrides thanked political parties for their contribution to the package, saying that their proposals have been taken into account. “We are in a state of war and we have to face a common, invisible enemy,” the Minister noted.
 
He said that the economic package is bigger that other packages introduced in the EU and said that he hoped for its unanimous adoption by the House of Representatives.
 
The Minister of Finance said moreover that he informed political party leaders about his intention to introduce a package to stimulate liquidity for SMEs and businesses through secured loans, interest subsidies or a combination of both. For this reason, he said that he would also consult with the banking sector.
 
The effort is the House to pass both packages simultaneously, early next week, Petrides noted.
 
He appeared moreover certain that they are using the appropriate means to address the crisis caused by COVID-19, characterized by a degree of uncertainty as to its depth and duration.
 
The financial impact of the crisis depends almost entirely on the measures that are being taken to protect public health, and which change daily, Petrides noted. He added that we are responding with the highest degree of consensus on a political level.