14/12/2012 07:13
Things remain hazy for the Cypriot support program, despite the almost unanimous approval of the memorandum bills by the House and Pimco’s preliminary estimates that the capital needs of the banks are close to the original estimates.
The European partners of Cyprus and the International Monetary Fund discussed yesterday the memorandum agreed on technocratic level on November 23 between the government and the troika.
In a statement released later, they welcomed the passage of the first set of measures and said that Pimco’s report had no surprises.
In a carefully worded report for Pimco, the Eurogroup noted; “We took note of the interim results of the due diligence exercise on the capital needs of the Cypriot financial sector, whose main parameters were broadly in line with expectations underlying programme discussions.
"We are confident that agreement on the programme could soon be reached, and we call on the international institutions and Cyprus to finalise negotiations accordingly”, the statement concluded.
In his statements after the meeting, both the President of the Eurogroup Jean-Claude Juncker and the European Commission Vice President Olli Rehn declined to define the outcome of negotiations.
On December 4, Mr. Rehn had stated that certainly by January 21 there would be a decision for Cyprus.
Yesterday, Mr Juncker said he didn’t want to commit to a schedule, but they are working to have a decision as soon as possible.
Mr. Rehn made similar vague statements as to the time framework.
President of the Republic stated yesterday before the EU summit that he is disappointed and frustrated by the situation.
Invited to comment on latest developments with the IMF and the Eurogroup, President Christofias answered that he is “disappointed and unhappy”.
Once again, certain concerns were expressed in the Eurogroup in the sustainability of the Cypriot debt and the need to take additional measures, such as privatizations.
There was also a disagreement as to the direct support of the banks, in 2014, by the European Support Mechanism – with which Germany disagrees.
Cyprus is negotiating a loan of €17.5 billion to meet the capital needs of the banks and the financial needs of the state.
The banking needs were estimated close to €10 billion, according to the Central Bank, the support that will be given will be the second largest in history.
The European partners of Cyprus and the International Monetary Fund discussed yesterday the memorandum agreed on technocratic level on November 23 between the government and the troika.
In a statement released later, they welcomed the passage of the first set of measures and said that Pimco’s report had no surprises.
In a carefully worded report for Pimco, the Eurogroup noted; “We took note of the interim results of the due diligence exercise on the capital needs of the Cypriot financial sector, whose main parameters were broadly in line with expectations underlying programme discussions.
"We are confident that agreement on the programme could soon be reached, and we call on the international institutions and Cyprus to finalise negotiations accordingly”, the statement concluded.
In his statements after the meeting, both the President of the Eurogroup Jean-Claude Juncker and the European Commission Vice President Olli Rehn declined to define the outcome of negotiations.
On December 4, Mr. Rehn had stated that certainly by January 21 there would be a decision for Cyprus.
Yesterday, Mr Juncker said he didn’t want to commit to a schedule, but they are working to have a decision as soon as possible.
Mr. Rehn made similar vague statements as to the time framework.
President of the Republic stated yesterday before the EU summit that he is disappointed and frustrated by the situation.
Invited to comment on latest developments with the IMF and the Eurogroup, President Christofias answered that he is “disappointed and unhappy”.
Once again, certain concerns were expressed in the Eurogroup in the sustainability of the Cypriot debt and the need to take additional measures, such as privatizations.
There was also a disagreement as to the direct support of the banks, in 2014, by the European Support Mechanism – with which Germany disagrees.
Cyprus is negotiating a loan of €17.5 billion to meet the capital needs of the banks and the financial needs of the state.
The banking needs were estimated close to €10 billion, according to the Central Bank, the support that will be given will be the second largest in history.
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