Cyprus case was extraordinary, says Trichet

The case of Cyprus has been absolutely extraordinary said Jean Claude Trichet, former President of the European Central Bank, commenting on the decisions taken to face the economic crisis the country is undergoing.
Addressing a seminar organised in the Belgian capital by the European Parliament and the European Journalism Centre on the Euro elections of 2014, Trichet was invited to comment on Cyprus` bail in experience, which resulted not only with Russian oligarchs losing money but also Cypriots, Trichet said "I would say that the Stability Growth Pack is very important, and can explain a lot of our difficulties”.

He said “there are three major dimensions in the governance, economic, financial and budget/fiscal governance of Europe”, adding that “the case of Cyprus has been absolutely extraordinary because the GDP is extremely meagre. The size of the financial sector, absolutely gigantic. And the help that Cyprus received from the rest of Europe, absolutely gigantic as a proportion of GDP”.
Trichet remarked that “if you do not have those in mind, you do not necessarily understand the decisions which have been taken by the government of Cyprus, because, it has to be said, all decisions have been taken by the government of Cyprus as a last resort, with the support of the parliament. It`s an absolutely exceptional case, obviously," he concluded.

Cyprus is currently implementing a 3-year fiscal adjustment program, following a bailout deal, reached last year with its international lenders, known as the Troika (European Commission, ECB, IMF).