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- Ελληνικά
The President of the Republic, Mr.Nicos Christodoulides, chaired a meeting of the Council of Ministers at the Presidential Palace today. Constantinos Letibiotis, in a statement to reporters, said that "the Council of Ministers today approved the 'Rent versus Rent' plan following the approval by the European Commission's Directorate General for Competition on 6 July 2023.
The basic text of the plan had been approved by the Council of Ministers at its meeting on 8 February 2023.
Under the plan, vulnerable households will be able to live in the main house as tenants while being exempted from the mortgage. The state will fully cover the required rent on behalf of individuals. Existing owners of the main house or their first-degree relatives will be able to buy back the house after five years at a favourable price below the level of market prices. The implementing agency of the project is KEDIPES and the beneficiaries for inclusion in the project are. Beneficiaries of social benefits, who had non-performing loans on 31/12/2021 and which remained non-performing on 31/12/2022, secured by the main house with a market value of up to €250,000
2. All applicants in the Home and Home Plans who were assessed as eligible but non-viable with a market value of a primary residence of up to €350,000, and
3. All applicants in the Home and Home Plans who were approved for inclusion in these plans and subsequently had their inclusion terminated.
Following plan approval, Treasury will issue a call for expressions of interest for participation to all credit unions and credit purchase companies.
The decision of the Council of Ministers will be published in the Official Gazette.
The plan is in line with both the Government's policy of reducing non-performing loans and the policy of strengthening affordable housing. With this innovative plan for Cypriot standards, a definitive and fair solution is offered for the repayment of housing non-performing loans and the protection of vulnerable households."
Asked whether the President of the Republic will refer the other three bills in case his proposal on divestments is not approved by the Parliament, the Spokesman said "we must first wait, with respect to the legislative power, to see how the debate will evolve in tomorrow's plenary session of the Parliament. What we are saying is that we must understand the gravity of the circumstances and rise to the occasion, all of us, executive and legislature. We call upon the responsible political forces of the country to study the package of measures that the Government through the Ministry of Finance has forwarded to them. At the same time, as the President of the Republic himself has stated, we cannot allow any derailment of public finances. It is a critical moment, it is a critical decision that the Parliament will be called upon to take and we are confident, we have confidence in the political forces that they understand the criticality of their decisions.
We believe that through the package of measures presented by the Ministry of Finance, but also through an additional legislative proposal that we have been informed has been submitted by DIKO, DIPA and EDEK, there can be a comprehensive approach to non-performing loans and divestments, an issue that has plagued the economy and our society for the last ten years. And this will safeguard vulnerable borrowers and at the same time the economic credibility and stability of our country."
Asked about the proposal of the three parties, the Spokesman said that "it is a proposal that can be discussed. A proposal that adds to the other proposals put forward by the Ministry of Finance. It is an additional proposal that deserves to be discussed and at the same time we have to bear in mind that any decision taken by the legislature, particularly on an issue concerning the course of our economy, should be made on the basis of concrete data."
Asked about the Foreign Minister's meeting with the United Nations Secretary General in New York, the Spokesman said that "it was a very constructive meeting. It was the Government's first meeting, since taking office, with the United Nations Secretary-General, which came as a follow-up to the President's telephone conversation with the Secretary-General.
The Foreign Minister explained to the Secretary-General in particular the initiative that we have taken since the President took office to engage the EU more actively and how the EU can make a catalytic contribution to the UN efforts and reiterated our side's readiness, its willingness to resume negotiations immediately from where they left off in Crans-Montana. At the same time, he reiterated our strong view that the appointment of a UN envoy would have a very high added value and we expect this to happen as soon as possible. We are ready to start negotiations immediately with the ultimate goal, always within the agreed framework, of a viable and final settlement of the Cyprus problem."
Asked what was the reaction of the UN Secretary General, the Spokesperson said that "he fully understands the usefulness of our initiative and reiterated his own will to allow negotiations to resume."
Asked what the Government's information is on the Turkish President's reaction to the President's initiative on the Cyprus problem, the Spokesman said that "the President of the Republic has already had telephone contact with the President of the European Council, he is expected to have contact today or tomorrow with Mr. Macron and Mr. Solts, and of course with the Greek Prime Minister, who will have a meeting with Mr. Erdogan today. We will have to wait and see how this meeting concludes, what Turkey's reaction will be. What we have been saying from the beginning and we think it has an importance is that this summit, not because it is the NATO summit, but because in terms of timing it would be an opportunity to have the first contacts between our European partners and the Greek Prime Minister and the institutions, and it would be a first opportunity to have a more correct reading of the intentions of the new government in Turkey. Because, yes, we can talk about a re-election of Mr Erdogan, but even the composition of the government is important. What is apparent, at least at first glance, from Turkey's official statements is that they place Euro-Turkish relations very high on their priorities, and it is something that we as the Republic of Cyprus have said from the outset that we should strive for, as long as it is always taken into account by our large European family, and this is the reality, the Cyprus issue, because - and we and European leaders have mentioned this, and I recall the speech of the President of the European Parliament - the Cyprus problem is a very important issue.
