NICOSIA --  The House of Representatives will soon be called to take difficult conditions, but Cyprus must be rescued, President Anastasiades said on Friday. In a message on his twitter account carried by the Cyprus News Agency, the president said : "The House will soon be called upon to take big and difficult decisions. There will be painful aspects, but the country must be saved."
Parliament is due to meet later today to approve bills tabled by the government as part of its Plan B to save the country from bankruptcy. They include the establishment of a soldiairty investment fund, restrictions on bank transactions once banks reopen on Tuesday and the restructuring of the banking sector. Political party leaders are expected to meet to around 7.00 pm amid reports that a fourth bill will be tabled by ruling Disy introducing a haircut on bank deposits above 100,000 euros. There has been no official confirmation of the bill, but on his return from Moscow earlier today, Finance Minister Michalis Sarris said that a levy on bank deposits is "clearly on the table" at talks between Cypriot leaders to raise the billions of euros demanded by the European Union in return for a bailout,
"I think that is clearly on the table, that is something that needs to be discussed to see whether a levy on deposits of some sort ... would make a contribution to finalising the package," he told reporters on arrival in Cyprus from Moscow, Reuters said.
"We are now talking about different numbers and we have to look at what are the possible sources," he said.
The government is scrambling to raise the 5.8 billion euros required by the Troika before it approves a 10 billion euro bailout.