MPs vote to delay foreclosures to March 19

PARLIAMENT on Thursday passed another law suspending the enforcement of foreclosures until March 19.

The vote was 30 for, 19 against, and one abstention.

The current suspension of foreclosures legislation was set to expire on March 2, with opposition MPs now extending that to March 19.

The reason cited for the extension was to allow time to study and pass the insolvency framework – a set of laws governing personal and corporate bankruptcy – which the opposition says will act as a safety net for distressed borrowers who have put up their homes and businesses as loan collateral.

The enactment of tougher foreclosures legislation was an obligation stemming from Cyprus’ bailout deal with international lenders. The legislation’s suspension has thrown off track the island’s adjustment programme.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.