Cyprus supports vulnerable groups of the population

The Cyprus government has begun supporting the vulnerable groups of the population, which are more affected by the increasing retail prices, said Finance Minister Charilaos Stavrakis, noting that this policy will continue for as long as the economy remains healthy.
Stavrakis was speaking in Brussels on the sidelines of the meeting of the Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN) where Joaquin Almunia, Commissioner responsible for Economic and Monetary Affairs and Jean-Claude Juncker permanent president of the Eurogroup, called on the EU governments with healthy economies, to take action to support the income of vulnerable groups whose purchasing power has significantly been restricted recently due to soaring prices.
Stavrakis said that the government began offering support to the vulnerable groups with the grant of the Easter allowance, which cost 33 million euro.
In addition, it will proceed with the import of water (eight million tones from Greece at the price of 4-5 euro per ton), with an overall cost of 40 million euro, which will be available to the public at normal prices. This, he added, is one of the government grants to the vulnerable groups of the society and Cypriot citizens, noting that the government will continue to provide social grants as long as the economy has the capacity.
Stavrakis underlined that “we must be careful because we are committed by our EU partners for a 0.5% surplus of the Gross Domestic Product, at a time when the world economy is not helpful and we are plagued by water shortage”.
Referring to Eurozone economy, Stavrakis said that ministers reviewed the situation, noting that despite the crisis that started from the US, numbers remain relatively good. However, he added, all ministers feel that the consumers’ confidence has been affected and undoubtedly the rate of development will slow down.
On the Cyprus economy, Stavrakis said that it continues to maintain high growth rates, with the GDP expected to range between 3.6 and 3.8%, despite the problems faced in the agricultural sector and the water shortage. He also said the biggest issue for the Eurozone is the increased inflation stressing that inflation records in Cyprus its highest level for the last.
The Finance Minister attributed the high inflation to external factors such as the increasing price of oil and raw materials and pointed out that this makes the effort to sustain inflation more difficult.