House finance committee to meet Monday via teleconference on economic package

The House finance committee is expected to convene on Monday via teleconference to discuss a new government package to mitigate the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the economy.

The new package approved last week by the cabinet, concerns state guarantees amounting to €1.5bn for loans to business and the self-employed and direct grants to very small businesses and the self-employed. It also includes a bill on tax incentives to real estate owners to reduce rent to businesses who, as well as a bill for government guarantees for 18-month credit vouchers for prepaid trips which have been cancelled due to the Covid-19 outbreak.

The meeting will start at 9am with the Finance Minister Constantinos Petrides briefing the committee members on the new bills.

This will be the third version of the government guarantee scheme to be discussed with the parliamentary parties in a bid to attract the necessary majority for parliamentary approval. Last week Petrides pointed out that the package should be viewed comprehensively as one bill being complementary to the other.

Head of the House finance committee, Angelos Votsis, told the Cyprus News Agency that a second meeting may be needed to conclude the discussion on the new government package.

“The political parties will have the opportunity to be briefed on the latest package and depending on the developments will consider whether holding a new meeting before the plenary session the coming Friday,” he said.

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.