Cypriot Minister calls for prudent measures against financial crisis

Cypriot Minister of Labour Sotiroulla Charalambous has called for prudent measures so that the exit of the European Union from the financial crisis would not be painful to the people.

She was speaking during a meeting of the EU Employment, Social Policy Council held in Luxemburg on Monday. The meeting focused on the preparation of the contribution to the EU Heads of States and Governments Summit to be held in June regarding solutions to the impacts of the current economic crisis on unemployment.

Addressing the Council, Charalambous stressed that Europe must highlight the importance on policies aiming at supporting social protection and employment.

We must be prudent so that the exit from the crisis will not be painful to the people and will not lead to further de-regulation of the employment framework and social protection, she said.

Therefore, she added, apart from measures assisting businesses and their competitiveness, Europe needs measures, which will keep people in their jobs within a right framework, as well as measures improving the network of social protection.

Referring to Cyprus, Charalambous said that the country has been minimally affected by the crisis, pointing out that the Cypriot government has drafted a strategic action plan encompassing measures aiming, mainly, at supporting employment and social cohesion.

The approach we follow is based on two basic pillars. On the one hand, promoting special interventions focused on labour groups affected by the financial crisis, while on the other hand encouraging special measures for attracting vulnerable social groups in the labour market.