|
|
|
Cyprus News Agency: News in English, 09-07-03
CONTENTS
[01] LABOUR MINISTER - CRISIS IMPACT
[01] LABOUR MINISTER - CRISIS IMPACT
Minister of Labour and Social Insurance Soteroula Charalambous has said
that ``the government intends to continue monitoring the impact of the
financial crisis on social security and more importantly of the
population ageing and if the need arises, it is determined to take
targeted measures to cope with this challenge.``
Addressing the Meeting of the EPC Working Group on Ageing Populations
and Sustainability, hosted by the Ministry of Finance with the support
of the Ministry of Labour and Social Insurance, on Thursday,
Charalambous said ``a holistic and an integrated approach is required
to be taken by each country, aiming at not only achieving a long-term
sustainability of the public pension system but also ensuring adequate
social protection and guaranteeing social equity.``
Charalambous referred to the main pension challenges faced in Cyprus
and the main measures the government has taken to confront them, adding
that ``the main objective of the government social policy is to ensure
the financial sustainability of public and private pensions schemes,
bearing in mind pressures on public finances and the ageing of
populations, in the context of the three-pronged strategy for tackling
the budgetary implications of ageing.``
``In Cyprus, the global financial crisis has not had any immediate and
direct impact on the general social insurance scheme, which effectively
operates on a pay-as-you-go basis and aims to provide adequate levels
of pension. The only indirect and long-term impact that the financial
crisis has on social insurance is that it could increasingly worsen the
broader, long-term fiscal challenges of Cyprus,`` she said.
|
