We need a European solution for Cyprus, Schultz says

We need a European solution for Cyprus, European Parliament President Martin Schultz has said, adding that the Eurogoup decision was unwise.

In statements he made after an EU Presidents’ meeting, Schultz said that in the short term the situation should be stabilized “by taking smaller deposits out by applying the deposit guarantee scheme and finding a solution for the own contribution of Cyprus, which is feasible for the Cypriots, acceptable for the member states, euro zone and the European institutions, without finding the money in another parts of the world”.

“We need a European solution, a solution within the European Union, within the eurozone”, he stressed, adding that “I think we should not show to the outside world that Europe is unable to solve its own problems within our own structures”.

The European Parliament President expressed the point of view that the decision on Cyprus created a major problem not only in Cyprus but also in Europe as a whole. He further said that a Cyprus parliament rejection of a draft bill on the deal, yesterday, was also “an expression of mistrust against the government of Cyprus because as far as we know the government of Cyprus agreed with the conclusions of the Eurogroup”.

He criticized “strongly” an ongoing blame game. This, he pointed out is not in the interest of our citizens.

Replying to a question as to whether he feels a precedent could be formed for other struggling euro zone countries such as Spain he reiterated that “the decision of the Eurogroup was not a very wise decision”, adding however that “nothing is lost we have time, we are under a certain time pressure, and we have certainly the necessity to solve the problem now”.

He stressed that the highest priority for the European Parliament is that the people that put their money in the bank account should know that they are safe to do so.

That is why, he noted, “we urge the EU to find a solution in the frame of the deposit guarantee scheme”.

“I am sure the eurozone finance ministers, the Eurogroup, including the government of Cyprus, will find very fast a solution satisfying both of the sides; the member states who are deciding to lend money to Cyprus and the Cypriot citizens who must contribute in a fair and just way” to the amount Cyprus must contribute to stabilize the situation in the country.

He also called for “a reliable and more coherent kind of governance in the EU”.

The Eurogroup reached last week an agreement in Brussels which provided for a 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 bill, with some amendments, was rejected by the Cyprus House of Representatives on Tuesday evening.

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.

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