| Author (Corporate) | Eurogroup |
|---|---|
| Series Title | News |
| Series Details | 16.03.13 |
| Publication Date | 16/03/2013 |
| Content Type | News |
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The Eurogroup (and the IMF) welcomed the political agreement reached with the Cypriot authorities on the 16 March 2013 on the cornerstones of the policy conditionality underlying a future macroeconomic adjustment programme. Cyprus would become the fifth eurozone country to receive a rescue package after eurozone ministers reached agreement following all-night talks on the 15 March 2013. The EU and IMF would provide up to €10bn bailout funds to Cyprus, which faced bankruptcy in May 2013. In a departure from all previous rescue packages, people with Cypriot bank accounts would share in the pain. People with less than €100,000 would face a 6.75% levy, while those with more would pay 9.9%. The one-off tax was expected to raise €5.8bn. Depositors would be compensated with the equivalent amount in shares in their banks. This aspect of the deal provoked public anger. Cyprus's parliament postponed an emergency session on the controversial bailout deal for the country's banks from the 17th to the 19th March 2013. Some commentators suggested that the EU decision to impose a levy on bank deposits might have been motivated by a belief that a lot of the money in Cypriot banks belonged to Russian money-launderers. On the 18 March 2013, Wolfgang Schäuble, German finance minister, deflected blame for a European bailout deal for Cyprus that foresees hitting small savers in the Mediterranean island's banks, saying this solution had not been a German idea and that he was open to it being changed. |
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| Source Link | Link to Main Source http://www.eurozone.europa.eu/newsroom/news/2013/03/eg-statement-cyprus-16-03-13/ |
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| Subject Categories | Economic and Financial Affairs |
| Countries / Regions | Cyprus |
