Cyprus manages to cover its financing needs, Government Spokesman Stephanos Stephanou has said, noting that “it is not a given that Cyprus will be admitted to a Support Mechanism“. “So far, we have managed to meet our financing needs until the end of the year and further efforts are being made. So do not take it as a given that Cyprus will be admitted to a Support Mechanism,“ he said.

The Spokesman’s statements were made in the light of an announcement by the Moody`s Investors Service which downgraded Cyprus` government bond ratings to Baa1 from A2 with a negative outlook. Stephanou recalled that the government and the political parties have been discussing different economic measures to satisfy fiscal needs and to solve structural problems.

“A package of measures has been approved and we expect more meetings to discuss about further measures”, he noted. According to a Moody’s announcement on Wednesday, the key drivers for its rating action were the “ongoing concerns about Cyprus`s fiscal position, which are amplified by the fiscal and economic consequences of the destruction of the Vasilikos power plant on 11 July 2011“ and the “increasingly fractious domestic political climate, which has increased implementation risks to the government`s new fiscal plans“. Moreover, one more key driver for its rating action was the “material risk that at least some Cypriot banks will require state support over the medium term as a result of their exposure to Greece“.