Filenews 26 October 2022 - by Eleftheria Paizanos
Instead of freezing foreclosures for another three months, the majority of the opposition is now focused on promoting in the Plenary of the Parliament the proposal for a law (EDEK - DIKO) for the establishment of a Special Court, which will hear cases of financial disputes, including foreclosures and securities.
As the rapporteurs of the draft law have admitted, the suspension of foreclosures is not a long-term solution to address the problem, which is why pressure is being exerted to conclude the discussion in the Committee of Jurists on the functioning of the foreclosure court. Members are waiting for the positions of the Legal Service, which are called upon to correct the legal issues that have arisen, in order to make the legislation constitutional.
Pending the opinion of the Legal Service, the majority of the members of the Parliamentary Committee on Finance decided to postpone until November 3 the plenary debate on the proposal for a law to suspend foreclosures until the end of January 2023, even though the existing suspension expires at the end of the month. Initially, the aim of the opposition parties was for the freezing of foreclosures to be put to the plenary session on Thursday 27 October. However, the majority "pulled back", so as not to get the country into trouble during the Commission's assessment of the Republic's request for the disbursement of an €85 million tranche. from the Recovery Fund.
Yesterday, the European Commission assessed Cyprus - preliminarily - positively, regarding the implementation of 14 prerequisites for the payment of €85 million. under the Recovery Facility. The positive preliminary assessment of the country has been sent to the Economic and Financial Committee, which will give its opinion within four weeks and then the Commission will issue its final decision on the disbursement of the tranche.
As "F" is informed, the rapporteurs of the draft law (EDEK and DIKO) for the operation of the Special Court will press for the issue to be discussed again in the Parliamentary Committee on Legal Affairs, so that it can be brought to the Plenary in November. Moreover, MPs from other opposition parties, although they agree with the Foreclosure Court, will demand that the auctions be put on the back burner until the court is fully operational. The Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank are in favour of the operation of the Foreclosure Court. However, they consider that criteria for beneficiaries should be included. In addition, there are reservations in relation to the 60-day period that the courts should, under the proposal, issue their decisions.
