Cypriot president cancels luxury cars for senior civil servants

 Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades has scrapped plans to put state-owned luxury vehicles at the disposal of senior civil servants, allowing them to use them free of charge around the clock.

The move comes amid a public outcry over what is seen as a waste of taxpayers' money, government spokesman Marius Pelicanos said Monday.

 Pelicanos said in a statement that President Anastasiades instructed the Ministry of Finance to withdraw the decision, after he had concerns about the possible use of vehicles outside the framework of official duties, to include activities such as family trips and shopping trips.

The decision to allow vehicles to be used by senior employees was made after an agreement with trade union officials to gradually reinstate the concession, which was scrapped amid tightening financial restrictions in the wake of the 2013 economic crisis, which brought the country to the brink of bankruptcy.

 Pelicanos said the financial cost of such use would have been "limited" because the state would not have purchased the cars.