Government Spokesman Stefanos Stefanou has said that the government will continue to implement consolidation measures to improve the economy and keep supporting growth and social cohesion.

In a written statement, issued here today, the Spokesman explained that the reason Cyprus had to recourse to the European support mechanism was the exposure of the Cypriot banks to the Greek economy and the failure of the Central Bank of Cyprus as the competent supervisory authority to exercise its role.

Stefanou dismissed criticism by the opposition that the absence of measures had led the country to the European support mechanism.

He stressed that Cyprus’ main economic indicators compare favorably to those of the majority of EU member states.

In addition, he said that any objective observer would argue that the main problem of the Cypriot economy is the exposure of the Cypriot banks to the Greek economy.

A troika mission (representatives of EU Commission, European Central Bank and IMF) was here in early July on a fact finding mission for a close scrutiny of the banking sector, which has been severely hit by Greek sovereign debt haircut and over-exposure to the Greek economy, as well as the refinancing requirements of the government.

It returned to Cyprus in late July for another week, to negotiate with the government the bailout terms and conditions.

Consultations between the government and the troika continue with a view to conclude to a memorandum the soonest possible.