SPEAKING to the Cyprus News Agency on the sidelines of the Euro-zone Finance Ministers’ meeting, Cyprus Finance Minister Kikis Kazamias said Rehn congratulated Cyprus on adopting tough decisions that would allow the country to overcome the difficult situation it was facing. Draghi agreed with that position, Kazamias said.
“In a short period of time and in a decisive manner, Cyprus has adopted measures that are considered very satisfactory to help reduce the budget deficit”, the European Commissioner said, according to Kazamias.
During the meeting of the Euro-zone Ministers, the representatives of the countries that have implemented the Commission’s recommendation were invited to make an intervention. This included Cyprus too.
The Minister recalled that based on the difficult situation Cyprus was facing, the European Commission sent a letter on November 11 warning Nicosia with sanctions. Kazamias, as he stated to the Cyprus News Agency, thanked the Commission for the letter of November 11, noting that it was catalytic in creating political consensus that formed the basis upon which the government founded its arguments for the proposal on the austerity measures.
The Minister also told the Cyprus News Agency that during the meeting he referred to the measures that allowed Cyprus to decrease the budgetary deficit by 3.5% in 2012, compared to 2011.
George.
Very true.
But they haven’t exactly addressed the problem, have they.
All they’ve done is dance round it and tried unsuccessfully to hoodwink everybody by tinkering with existing property laws and manufacturing new ones.
Word’s out that corruption and scams rule here. Nobody’s buying the pup. Game over.
We must remember that it wasn’t just on this government’s watch that the ‘title deed fiasco/institutionalized fraud’ took place. We can blame President Christofias and co all we want but they inherited a leaking bucket that has secretly leaked for many years.
Did you notice only Kazamias spoke to the news agency and not the two people referred to. Wonder what they actually said.
Does not say much for the EU Commissioner’s judgement. No doubt they are all so desperate to clutch at any straw of comfort for the Euro Zone crisis that Cyprus’s flimsy financial sticking plaster just has to be passed off as a miracle cure.
Weaseley words will not alter the inevitable for Cyprus. The debts are too close and the Oil / Gas is too far away. Too little too late from the village idiot and his mates.
And quite right too, the measure of adopting a policy of offloading the costs of incompetent policy and at the same time rewarding unions and public servants and offloading it all onto the taxpayer is a stroke of genius and to be applauded. Until such time of course that the taxpayer realises that they are being shafted.
Can’t wait for the EU to congratulate Cyprus for providing title deeds for those who’ve been denied them.
That will truly be something worth jumping up and down about.
Step up to the oche, Commissioner Reding, and let your arrows puncture the myth making and crooked behaviour of this delinquent state and enforce them to adhere to European law.
Olli Rehn and President of the European Central Bank Mario Dragh should be congratulating the taxpayers of Cyprus specifically, as it is they that are having to fund this austerity drive not the government.