Cyprus government to grant Easter allowance

The government announced that it will grant an Easter allowance, worth EUR33 mln to a total of 112.000 recipients of state allowances and pensioners.
The allowance will be sent to those entitled by April, meeting a commitment included in the pre-election programme of President Demetris Christofias, who was elected to the presidency in February this year.
Cyprus Finance Minister Charilaos Stavrakis assured that this grant will not affect public finances, noting that the government will maintain its fiscal discipline programme.
Stavrakis said the government will also meet a commitment it has assumed towards the European Union to present a 0.5% fiscal surplus by the end of 2008 and added that according to the Finance Ministry’s calculations the EUR33 mln will not affect inflation, which reached 4.9% in February 2008.
The Minister dismissed as ”completely wrong” reports that experts of Cypriot Ministries and the European Commission had advised that the government should not grant these allowances, due to inflation.
”The commitment to the EU was taken into account when we assumed the responsibility to present a fiscal surplus of 0.5% and it is fully compatible with the capabilities and the robustness of the Cypriot economy,” he added.
Minister of Labour and Social Securities Sotiroulla Haralambous said the measure applies to all retired persons entitled to pension, namely 14,600 who receive social allowances and 97,700 persons who receive a pension from the Cyprus Social Security Fund.
Both Ministers said that their ministries assumed a responsibility to carry out a study by next year, aiming at allocating all allowances in a more just way.