Barnier: Cyprus capital controls must be brief, “workable” says Barroso

"Any measures to restrict or limit freedom of movement may only be enacted exceptionally and temporarily and that is what has been requested by the Cypriot authorities," Michel Barnier, the Commissioner responsible for the 27-member EU's single market, told a news conference in Brussels.

"This is a restriction on movement that may only last a few days," he said.

Barnier's remarks adds to pressure on Cyprus to resume business as normal for its remaining banks as soon as possible.

Banks in Cyprus remain closed and the country is expected to continue some controls on the movement of money when they reopen.

Such controls would normally contravene EU law on free flow of capital, but can be justified on the grounds that they are needed to maintain financial stability, for example.

Early on Monday, Cyprus clinched a last-ditch deal with international lenders to shut down its second-largest bank and impose losses on uninsured depositors in return for a 10 billion euro ($13 billion) bailout.

The agreement came hours before a deadline to avert a collapse of the banking system in fraught negotiations between President Nicos Anastasiades and heads of the EU, the European Central Bank and the IMF.

Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said that despite clinching the deal, it was difficult to predict the island nation's economic future.

"I am confident that the programme will work, but let's be honest. At this moment, we cannot say exactly what the impact is going to be," Barroso told a news briefing.