CYPRUS: Eurogroup President says talks should be speeded up

Discussions with the Cypriot authorities should be speeded up to allow negotiations for the support mechanism to be completed, said President of the Eurogroup Jean-Claude Juncker.

Speaking in Luxembourg, he said the Cypriot economy and its application for financial assistance on 25th June was examined, adding that all believe that deliberations should be speeded up and for this reason, the Eurogroup called on the Cypriot authorities to take decisive measures to complete the negotiations for a financial programme.

The discussion was held following a meeting with Cyprus Finance Minister Vasili Sharly.

IMF head Christine Lagarde who also took part in the meeting, said an IMF delegation will visit Cyprus in mid October to discuss the financial assistance. She said the IMF has received proposals from the government of Cyprus and it is examining them and discussions will continue on site to achieve progress.

On June 25, Cyprus applied for financial assistance in a bid to rescue its banks severely hit by the Greek sovereign debt haircut and to secure the government’s fiscal needs. Cyprus has acquired 1.8 billion EUR shares issued by Cyprus Popular Bank, whereas Bank of Cyprus announced it intends state support up to 500.000 million EUR to achieve the 8% Core Tier 1 capital set out by the European Banking Authority.