Their proposals and whether they are unconstitutional or not were commented on by MPs who are members of the Finance Committee, in their statements.
DISY Member of Parliament, Averof Neofytou, considers it constitutional to write off the remaining loan after the imposition of interest, saying that the right is given to the recipient to cut off 2/3 of his loan if he wants. But if he does not cut it, the legislator changes the context and the court’s decision must be awaited for the company to proceed with the sale of the property.
On the one hand, he said, the guarantors who are more than double the number of borrowers in absolute number are exempted, while the borrowers also benefit.
AKEL did not remember now that the Parliamentary elections are near, of the divestment, like some other “former bodyguards of the banks”, who prevented, with just one vote, the proposal of his party to tax the windfall profits of the banks, AKEL MP Aristos Damianou said for his part.
The AKEL Member of Parliament said that from 2014 until today, his party submitted 35 legislative proposals and amendments in an effort to create the necessary safety net for the benefit of borrowers and guarantors and to reduce the super-privileges of banks and credit acquisition and management companies.
“So the false alibi is over. On the 18th we were told that the courts would create special jurisdiction. We’ll see them again.” AKEL’s position, he said, is that before the Parliament dissolves itself, every member of parliament or every political force should be called to take a position. “With the banks or with society. With the many for society or with the few for the big private interests and funds”.
DIKO Member of Parliament Zacharias Koulias asked for debates in the Plenary Session of the Parliament on his own proposals, referring to them.
The civil servants today, said the DIKO Member of Parliament, “remembered the Constitution” while he contrasted the unconstitutionality of the 2018 law. “Well, the Constitution is like the buffet. Whenever we want, do we remember the Constitution? If the state wants to challenge the constitutionality, go challenge it and pay the costs of its actions,” he said. It is both within the European conquered and constitutional, it goes without saying, he added.
Loud proposals that are unconstitutional will never be implemented and will not protect anyone, the President of DIKO, Nikolas Papadopoulos, told reporters, because “the Supreme Court is not going to allow them. Therefore, anyone proposing proposals that are unconstitutional, for example those that interfere with private contracts, will be found unconstitutional and will not protect any borrowers. They are simply a mockery.”
Asked to comment on the proposals of Mr. Koulias, Mr. Papadopoulos said that all the proposals submitted on the matter will be discussed in the DIKO parliamentary group and it will decide which ones to support. They have discussed their own law proposal, he said, with the Central Bank, the Minister of Justice and other competent bodies and at first sight it receives a positive response.
Asked to comment on Damianos’ reference to “bank bodyguards”, the president of DIKO asked who bankrupted the country and led to the collapse of the banking system and led the borrowers and not only to adventures and if we want to “give the keys to the Cypriot economy to political forces that will lead our country to adventures again, to bankruptcy, in memoranda, in financial disasters.”
ELAM Member of Parliament Linos Papagiannis described it as extremely strange that parties that have long defined their stance on the issue of divestments, “suddenly before the elections have appeared to literally mutate”. ELAM, he said, has submitted various proposals for 6 and 4 years and presented them.
There is, he added, one that is shared with other MPs and “we will pursue it to the end”
In the question about the constitutionality or not of some proposals, ELAM Member of Parliament Sotiris Ioannou who was with Mr. Papadakis took the floor saying that it depends on whether there is political will and whether the executive power wants to solve a problem. 3 years ago, he said, the proposal for the binding of the Financial Commissioner was unconstitutional and would collapse the financial system, while today it is “applauded”.
The main responsibility for the current picture regarding loans lies with the majority of the Parliament that passed the sale law in September 2014, the insolvency framework in April 2015, the law on the transfer and mortgage of real estate in 2018, and gave superpowers to creditors at the expense of borrowers, said EDEK MP Marinos Sizopoulos.
In his statements to journalists, Mr. Sizopoulos said that EDEK the proposals that will limit the superpowers of financial institutions at the expense of vulnerable borrowers and will protect these borrowers for the protection of their first home.
The DIPA’s proposals on the subject presented to the Finance Committee were explained outside the Committee by the MP of the DIPA, Alekos Tryfonidis, saying that there is enough time for discussion and some proposals could be left for the new Parliament.
Mr. Tryfonidis mentioned that the right to involve the Financial Commissioner in the process of foreclosures was not used much by the borrowers, although this legislation has been passed since 2023. Then, he added, the legislation for the special courts was also passed but they were told that they could not find judges and other excuses. “So any (similar) proposals that come in today are without substance, because there is the law the blessed one. And I would also publicly beg the honorable Supreme Court again to proceed with the creation of the Special Court so that we can have a short trial of the cases,” he said.
Mr. Tryfonidis spoke of an opportunity with the companies’ admission of non-disposals for a year so that the cases can be concluded in the Special Courts. He asked for a suspension of the sales until the end of the year for the formation of the necessary framework at the level of the Commissioner and the Courts.
He welcomed the government’s decision to recognize binding judgments of up to €20,000 and the positive attitude of the Treasury to reinstate for 3 to 6 months the “Rent for Installment” scheme for vulnerable borrowers.
The President of the Environmentalists – Citizens Cooperation Movement, Stavros Papadouris, sees the risk of multi-million properties passing into the hands of a few selectively through auctions, explaining that for this reason he has proposed that a property should not be sold for less than 50% of its original value.
Explaining his own proposals, Mr. Papadouris described as tragic the decision taken by the Parliament in 2028 and the need for a borrower to appeal to the court, which will, however, hear the case soon.
Mr. Papadouris spoke of data from the Central Bank according to which 86% of loans are already terminated by court decisions which means 9-12% interest every year.
On constitutionality or not, he questioned whether the 2018 law that “changed the game overnight for borrowers” with preemptive covenants was constitutional or not. He noted that what is or is not constitutional is left to the Legal Service and the decision of the PtD whether to refer a legislation or not.
Mr. Papadouris also referred to data from the Central Bank dated 02/01/26 which show that by September 2025, 30 million euros have been acquired from the sale of 146 first-principal homes, which means 205,000 euros average home value. “So what we used to hear about the strategic defaulters and the mansions of the millionaires, the swimming pools and the tennis courts and so on, let them say it elsewhere.”
Regarding the temporary suspension of sales, he said that if it would help to pass the rest of the proposals in this Parliament “well”. “If we are to load it in the next Parliament”, he reminded that with the new composition the law proposal must be submitted again.
Source: KYPE