Roundup: EC urges Cyprus to continue reform efforts: minister

The European Commission called on Cyprus in a report to go on economic and administrative reforms, Cypriot Finance Minister Haris Georgiades said Friday.

Though related report has yet to be officially released, the minister told state television he has seen a copy of the 56-page report issued almost nine months after Cyprus exited its economic adjustment program.

The report said after international lenders ended control over the Cypriot economy, efforts to continue reforms and rationalize the economy have been halted.

In late March, Cyprus officially exited a three-year economic adjustment program offered by the Eurogroup and the International Monetary Fund, promising to continue reforming the economy and the public administration in line with the 2013 economic assistance memorandum.

The report particularly mentioned the country's failure to reform the public administration by the end of 2016 and introduce reforms for the local governments.

The public service reform was blocked by the highly partisan opposition in parliament, which threw out five of the six bills introducing reforms for the public service, said the report.

Parliament is also delaying the debate of legislation for the reform of local authorities introduced by the government.

The Commission also said in its report that the rate of restructuring non-performing household loans by banks has slowed down compared with the rate of restructuring corporate loans.

However, it acknowledged that banks and Cooperative Credit Societies have improved their restructuring mechanisms and the first results have already become visible.

Georgiades said the conclusions of the report are accurate and correct.

"I agree with the conclusion that the economy is picking up and also with the advice for the continuation of the reform effort and the diligent management of public finances," Georgiades said.

He added that he was disappointed by the voting down of the public service reforms by the parliament but expressed hope that the rejection of the legislation is not final.

The country's economy has grown for sixth consecutive quarter after a deep recession. Official statistics showed that its growth in the third quarter of this year reached 2.9 percent, one of the fastest in the eurozone and well above the eurozone average. Endi