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FinMin briefs Eurogroup teleconference of country's economic projections

12/06/2020 09:22

Cyprus` Finance Minister Constantinos Petrides has briefed his eurozone counterparts during a Eurogroup teleconference of the government`s projections for the country`s economy in the coming years

In is intervention, Petrides stressed that Cyprus` economy is expected to be seriously affected by the pandemic as is the case with all European economies, noting that Cyprus has taken very strict measures to contain it in order to protect its citizens and the public health system, adopting a fiscal support and liquidity package equivalent to 15% of GDP, a press release by the Ministry of Finance says.

At the same time, Petrides briefed the Eurogroup that the Cypriot economy is expected to shrink significantly  in 2020 and a significant recovery in 2021, mainly supported by local demand.

In general, the government`s macroeconomic scenario is in line with the Commission`s spring forecast for 2020, suggesting an increase of real GDP of 6% in 2021.

Public debt is estimated to increase in 2020, reaching 116.8% of GDP compared to 95.5% of GDP in 2019, while it is expected to follow a downward trend from 2021 onward.

The main goal of Cyprus` policy remains to safeguard its macroeconomic stability in order to facilitate growth and the creation of jobs, he said, among other things.