Cameron and Putin discuss situation in Cyprus
Developments in Cyprus were discussed during a telephone call between British Prime Minister David Cameron and the President of Russia Vladimir Putin.
British Prime Minister’s spokesman said Cameron’s view is that the situation in Cyprus is an issue for the eurozone to handle, but it is important for the banks to remain stable and for the situation to be resolved “as quickly as possible.”
Asked whether the UK would send more money as a contingency for serving soldiers, or whether the Foreign Office was reviewing travel advice, the spokesman said the situation was fluid and both cases would be kept under review.
Earlier this week the UK’s Royal Air Force transferred 1 million euros to Cyprus to cover the needs of around 3,000 military personnel and their families living on the island.
The Eurogroup reached last week an agreement in Brussels which provided for a one-off levy on savings that stung small account holders to the tune of 6.75% in exchange for a €10 billion sovereign bailout deal, whereas deposits over 100.000 euro would be charged with a 9.9% levy. The agreement also included an increase in corporate tax from 10% to 12.5%. A relevant bill, with some modifications, was rejected by the Cyprus House of Representatives on Tuesday evening. Since Tuesday, commercial banks remained closed, while the Government decided yesterday to promote another solution as European Central Bank warned that it would terminate liquidity.
On Thursday, Eurogroup ministers discussed via a teleconference developments in Cyprus and reaffirmed their readiness to discuss with the Cypriot authorities a draft new proposal to be presented “as rapidly as possible”.
Cypriot lawmakers began on Friday the examination of bills submitted by the government in the context of the discussions for a financial assistance package from the European Stability Mechanism.
The bills, which seek to avert a disorderly collapse of the Cypriot financial sector, were submitted following the rejection of a proposed tax levy on banking deposits that would unlock a €10 billion financial assistance package. The bills will later be debated by the House plenary that convenes under the extraordinary procedure
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