FINANCE: Cyprus supports taking next steps towards European Banking Union

The European Union is at a critical juncture in the course of its economic governance, said Finance Minister Harris Georgiades before joining the Eurogroup meeting in Vienna on Friday.

Georgiades said: "Brexit issues arise, which will be discussed today especially with regard to the European Investment Bank, but there are also the issues pertaining to the further deepening (of the EMU) with an emphasis on the next steps of the European banking union."

He said Nicosia will be called upon to make decisions on the issue.

"Cyprus is in favour of making these next steps, in a reasonable way in the Banking and the European Capital Markets Union, and I am sure that today we will have productive discussions in this direction.”

Georgiades said Cyprus is “cautious” about the financial transactions tax, which is proposed as a new ‘own resource’ for the next multiannual financial framework.

He said that "on the digital tax on the digital economy we are ready to discuss it", pointing out that the new system "should be very well thought out".