The House of Representatives plenary has accepted, by majority vote, one of the two referrals relating to foreclosures by President of the Republic Nicos Anastasiades and rejected the other.
The referral which was accepted by a majority of 28 for, 24 against and 4 abstentions, was on legislation initially tabled by MPs stipulating that borrowers have the right to submit a complaint to the Central Bank of Cyprus on violations by banks of the code governing the restructuring of loans.
The second referral, which was rejected unanimously, concerned legislation which gives the Central Bank of Cyprus the power to intervene in case of mass foreclosures.
The plenary then adopted by majority an amended legislative proposal on the matter.
Ruling party DISY President Averof Neofytou had proposed to have consultations with the European Central Bank on the first referral. He also said he would follow the line adopted by opposition parties as regards the rejection of referrals.
He spoke of the need to create conditions for growth and attract investments and criticised banks for sending letters, recently, to many borrowers at a time when an effort is taking place for parliamentary consensus on the referrals.
Left wing opposition party AKEL Secretary General Andros Kyprianou criticised the government and the President for the way the whole affair with the referrals has been handled and said his party would table a legislative proposal calling for suspension of the legislation on foreclosures.
He further expressed his party`s readiness to discuss bilaterally with the Minister of Finance Harris Georgiades the legal framework on insolvency which is being drafted with the participation of experts nominated by all parliamentary parties.
DIKO MP Angelos Votsis said things would be different if Parliament had before it all the bills relating to insolvency. The government has pledged to draft the bills and submit them before the end of the year. He added that DIKO`s approach will focus on finding a solution to the current predicament.
EDEK MP Nicos Nicolaides said the legislation adopted by Parliament and referred back to it by the President aims to protect citizens. He noted that in order for the current problem to be resolved, the Parliament must insist on its principled position and continue to seek alternative solutions.
Greens MP Giorgos Perdikis said he will reject both referrals, adding that they lack constitutional and political reasoning and aim to satisfy the whims of Troika, Cyprus` international lenders.
Citizens Alliance MP Nicos Koutsou said he will reject the referral on the Central Bank because it is not justified by way of constitutional violation but rather by the argument that such a provision already exists in other legislation in force.
The implementation of the bill on foreclosures is a precondition for the disbursement of Cyprus` financial assistance package sixth tranche. In approving the bill, the Cypriot Parliament approved a package of additional bills or legislative proposals which Cyprus` international lenders – collectively known as the Troika (EC, ECB, IMF) – say they breach the requirements of the MoU, the legal basis of Cyprus` bailout.
The Cypriot President has already referred four bills directly to the Supreme Court and referred the remaining two back to the Parliament.
