Eurogroup ready to support Cyprus, “if necessary” says Dijsselbloem

The President of the Eurogroup and Dutch Finance Minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem said after a meeting with Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades Finance Minister Harris Georgiades that the group of Eurozone finance ministers would continue to support Cyprus.
“It was a very good meeting… we stand ready from the Eurogroup to support Cyprus when necessary,” Dijsselbloem said.
“Of course we met a year ago when we had to take the very difficult decisions for Cyprus. But a lot of work has been done over the year and I complemented the President and his government for all the work that has been done,” the Dutch official said.
As head of the Eurorgoup, Dijsselbloem is considered the architect of the experimental “bail in” process that saw thousands of people and investors lose their unsecured deposits of over 100,000 euros as part of the rescue package for Cyprus in March 2013.
Anastasiades, hardly two weeks in office after winning last year’s presidential elections, was faced with “take it or leave” terms imposed by the Eurogroup, as part of a deal that saw a further 10 bln euros in aid to prop up the Cyprus economy and introduce harsh austerity and widespread reforms. The bailout package was coordinated by the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund, known as the ‘troika’ of international lenders.
Dijsselbloem will also be the keynote speaker at the University of Cyprus on Monday afternoon.