Brussels --- President of the Eurogroup Jeroen Dijsselbloem said on Friday that he is hoping for a good solution on Cyprus at Eurogroup’s meeting.
Speaking to the press before tonight’s meeting, he noted that he has set two goals and these are the stability of the Eurozone and the viability of Cyprus’ growth course.
He said that during tonight’s meeting, the EU Ministers will assess Cyprus’ situation and they will be briefed by the Commission and the European Central Bank on their consultations in Nicosia as regards Cyprus’ bailout programme.
Eurogroup President said that he cannot say whether there will be an agreement tonight, adding that “we are not happy that Cyprus needs financial assistance, Cyprus is not happy either, but it is for the benefit of the country and the Eurozone to reach an agreement, we are hoping to find a good solution”.
On her behalf IMF Chief Christine Lagarde noted that the solution for Cyprus should not be a temporary one, but we should look into something that would be comprehensive and permanent.
Excluded from the international markets, Cyprus applied last June for financial assistance from the EU bailout mechanism, after its banks sought state support following massive write downs of the Greek bond holdings amounting to €2.5 billion or 25% of the island`s GDP, as result of the Greek sovereign debt haircut.
The Cypriot authorities and the Troika of the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the IMF have agreed on a preliminary memorandum of understanding on the conditions of the bailout initially estimated at €17 billion. (CNA)