NICOSIA  – An extraordinary cabinet meeting will be held this weekend at the Presidential Palace on the return of President of the Republic Nicos Anastasiades from Brussels, following the political agreement on the bailout package for the Cyprus economy.
According to CNA reports, the ministers of the productive ministries are already holding a meeting at the Presidential Palace this morning with the sole aim to be briefed on the details of the agreement reached at the Eurogroup meeting ahead of the Cabinets extraordinary session, which will approve the relevant draft bills. President Anastasiades is expected to return to the island at 1430 local time (1230GMT).

Meanwhile, the House of Representatives is also expected to convene this Weekend or Monday the latest to discuss and vote on the draft bills which the Government will table and they are necessary for the implementation of the agreed bailout programme.
Cyprus and Eurogroup have reached a political agreement on a bailout programme totaling 10 billion euros for the Cyprus economy, following ten hours of talks in the Belgian capital.

The agreement includes an unprecedented one-off levy on bank deposits to raise 5.8 billion euros and an increase in corporate tax from 10% to 12.5%.
Cyprus becomes the fifth country after Greece, Ireland, Portugal and Spain to turn to the euro zone for financial help in the wake of the region’s debt crisis. -