NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) – With Cyprus poised to conclude a three-year rescue program this month, a top European Commission official on Thursday praised the country’s commitment to pushing through key reforms and quickly turning its economy around despite dour economic projections.
EU Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis put it down to the eurozone country’s “consistent implementation of structural reforms” for getting its economy growing again after nearly going bankrupt.
“I would say this is really this determined reform effort by the government,” Dombrovskis said after talks with Cypriot Finance Minister Harris Georgiades.
Cyprus received a 10 billion euro lifeline in March 2013 that forced a seizure of uninsured deposits in its two largest banks and shuttered the smaller lender. The so-called haircut crushed confidence in the banking sector and forced authorities to impose capital controls that were fully lifted two years later.
Dombrovskis said the Cypriot economy is projected to grow by 1.5 percent in 2016 for the second year running and by 2 percent next year.