Keravnos tells EU to ‘think outside of box’ to alleviate cost of living

The European Commission should ‘think outside of the box’ and come up with ways to bring down the cost of living for ordinary Europeans amid the ongoing energy crunch, Finance Minister Makis Keravnos said on Monday. Keravnos made the remarks to media walking into a meeting of the Economic and Financial Affairs Council (Ecofin) taking place in Brussels. “The European Commission, the European leadership, must think outside of the box so that we can come up with creative and immediate solutions,” the minister said. “Despite the resilience shown by the European economy,” he added, “the average person and household continue to suffer from energy costs as a result of the global energy crisis that has created inflationary pressures dispersed throughout the economy and society.” In addition, investments in power distribution grids, as well as greater penetration of renewables in the energy mix, would help mitigate rising energy costs. Relief measures should meanwhile continue, without straying from EU fiscal governance rules. Earlier, ahead of his trip to Brussels, Keravnos said the cost of living would again be on the table at the Ecofin and Eurogroup meetings. He noted that Nicosia was awaiting the response of the European Commission regarding Cyprus’ request for a further reduction of the excise duty on heating oil, adding that “from our contacts so far, I see a positive approach.” Keravnos said that “we will keep pressing our case and documenting our positions even more thoroughly until we secure the treatment that we believe the Cypriot economy deserves. “An economy that generates fiscal surpluses, reduces its public debt and grows at around 3 per cent, cannot be subject to one-size-fits-all restrictions that disregard its actual performance and the circumstances it faces. We cannot accept such blanket approaches.” Cyprus’ annual inflation rate has outpaced the EU average, according to a flash estimate published by Eurostat last week. Annual inflation across the euro area reached 4 per cent in October, up from 3.8 per cent in September. Cyprus’ estimated rate was 1.4 percentage points above the euro area average.