IMF receives Cyprus counter proposals, sources say

“We have received yesterday some proposals which are being examined by the group which is handling Cyprus”, the sources said.

So far, the date of the arrival of the Troika delegation to Cyprus has not been set; however, the most optimistic predictions talk about Troika resuming its Cyprus mission on Monday.

The Finance Ministry has conveyed to the IMF two weeks ago, a document with its counterproposals, with a footnote that the final proposals would be conveyed at the end of the meetings of the President with political party leaders, something that happened yesterday.

In the meantime, Delia Velculescu Senior Economist at the European Department of the IMF had continued telephone conversations with the Cyprus Finance Ministry, asking for clarifications over the proposals which Nicosia had sent.

IMF sources pointed out that the most important thing is that “numbers add up and the viability of the loan is secured”, noting that red lines cannot be drawn.

As regards to deadlines, sources in Washington point out that for disbursements to be feasible before Christmas, there should be a Troika – Cyprus government agreement in mid November because Commission and European Central Bank officials require a month to examine it and forward it to EU capitals for approval at the Eurogroup summit in mid December.

Cyprus applied for financial assistance from the EU bailout mechanism (EFSF/ESM) to recapitilise its banking sector whose liquidity has been depleted as a result of the Greek sovereign debt haircut as well as to cover its fiscal needs.