AKEL insists on the targeted suspension of foreclosures
Statement by AKEL MP Aristos Damianou after the meeting of the Parliamentary Financial and Budgetary Affairs Committee
5th July 2021, AKEL C.C. Press Office, Nicosia
We discussed today in the Parliamentary Financial and Budgetary Affairs Committee the joint proposal for a draft bill AKEL tabled with other parties, for a three-month extension of the suspension of foreclosures in a targeted manner.
As expected, the Ministry of Finance, the Central Bank and the Association of Commercial Banks disagree and oppose this draft bill.
Nevertheless, no convincing reply was given concerning the fact that, a number of initiatives undertaken to protect primary family homes and small commercial premises have come to nothing.
At the same time, because the government has from time to time announced plans and proposals to protect primary homes, we have reaffirmed the complete failure of the government’s ‘Estia’ scheme. We have reaffirmed the disorderly termination of the Cyprus Land Development Corporation’s plans that would provide affordable housing for young couples. We reaffirmed the delaying tactics and partial failure of the Insolvency Framework, the expediency of the government and Justice Ministry in withdrawing the Courts Act at the very last moment which safeguarded the constitutional rights of citizens.
However, when Parliament and the opposition parties take initiatives to protect vulnerable borrowers, we are confronted with a wall of complete rejection and encounter implicit threats that the world is about to come to an end.
It is our duty to demand a balance between the privileges of the banks and the rights of borrowers. We will examine as a whole, together with the other parties, how we proceed. As a matter of fact, we have no choice but to move the Bill forward to the plenary. It may be subject to some adjustments in order to secure the maximum necessary consensus and consent of the majority of parties.
