The adverse financial situation in Cyprus and ways to support the country and its people in these trying times were the focus of the 41st meeting of the Cyprus Federation of America, which took place on Saturday in New York, with the participation of 108 delegates from 20 member organisations and the youth.
The meeting was addressed by Archbishop of America Demetrios, who briefed the delegates on his talks with President of the Republic of Cyprus Nicos Anastasiades and Archbishop of the Church of Cyprus Chrysostomos II, as well as the decisions taken to assist the people of Cyprus, in cooperation with the Church of Cyprus.
The Cypriot government was represented by Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Nicos Emiliou, who conveyed the greetings of President Anastasiades and noted that the true ambassadors of Cyprus abroad were the overseas Cypriots.
President of the International Coordinating Committee – Justice for Cyprus (PSEKA) Philip Christopher referred to the importance of keeping up the struggle for Cyprus, and noted that Cypriot Hellenism would not accept a solution that would not serve its interests.
He also referred to the dire situation in which Cypriot citizens have found themselves due to the financial crisis.
Excluded from international markets, Cyprus applied in June 2012 for financial assistance, after its two largest banks sought state aid, following massive write downs of their Greek bond holdings amounting to €4.5 billion or 25% of the island`s GDP, as a result of the Greek sovereign debt haircut.
The government concluded a deal with the Troika of international lenders, which needs to be ratified by national parliaments and the Eurogroup. The Eurogroup reached an agreement with the Cypriot authorities on the key elements necessary for the macroeconomic adjustment programme.
The island’s second largest bank, Laiki, splits into a “good” and a “bad” bank. The bank`s “good” assets are being transferred to the Bank of Cyprus, where a massive haircut is being imposed on uninsured deposits of more than 100,000 euros.
