No other country needs investments as much as Cyprus, says Schulz

Schulz was speaking during a press conference on the sidelines of a European Parliament plenary, in Strasburg, on Wednesday.

He referred to the European Parliament’s efforts so that the most possible help can be given to Cyprus.

Cyprus, he noted, is literally on its knees after the Eurogroup’s decision to proceed with a deposits haircut. The country, he added, finds itself in a difficult negotiating position due to economic woes.

During the last meeting, we pressed for all possible help to be given to Cyprus, which was not obvious, EP President said, adding that he had previously discussed the issue with Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades and had expressed his support of helping the country.

Right now in Cyprus, he continued, small to medium enterprises and the private sector do not have access to loans. Therefore, he said, investments in the country are not possible unless they come from abroad. This is catastrophic, he added, because it leads to a total absence of economic activity.

“We should talk with the European Investment Bank, because I don’t think there is any other country in need of investments as much as Cyprus”, Schulz concluded.

The Cypriot economy has been hampered by recession since the third quarter of 2011. Excluded from international markets since May 2011, Cyprus requested and received a €10 billion financial assistance package from the Troika (EC, ECB, IMF).

The package featured a sizeable reduction of the island`s banking sector, as well as bail-in of uninsured deposits, which hampered the services sector, one of the island`s main source of income.