Finance Minister, Marcos Kyprianou rejected allegations on Tuesday, according to which Cyprus is no longer able to request an exemption from the imposition of new taxes on fuel. “Cyprus still has the right to submit the relevant request to the European Commission for the adoption of the EU directive”, a Finance Ministry representative told StockWatch, stressing that no definite decision has been taken by the European Commission.

The issue, which sparked the immediate response of the government party, AKEL, due to the Finance Minister’s decision not to adopt the EU directive, will be discussed by the Council of Ministers soon.

The latest developments on Cyprus’ inability to take a transitional period were reported in newspaper “Simerini”. According to the report, the EU directive does not provide for a delayed allocation of the transitional period to the acceding countries, but what it is still feasible is the transfer of the enforcement date of the Community Acquis. However, “this is particularly difficult for Cyprus, since the EU considers that the standard of living is high”, the report noted.