Brussels, 29/01/2013 (Agence Europe) - After seven months of fruitless talks with the EU about financial aid for Cyprus, the country is now hoping Russia will provide extra financial aid.
The Cypriot request for financial aid is the subject of disagreement in the eurozone, firstly over the danger that the country might default (it accounts for barely 0.2% of eurozone wealth). The ECB and European Commission seem unable to convince Germany of the danger of a default by Cyprus leading to greater problems. Bloomberg says that Michael Fuchs, a member of the Bundestag from the same political party as the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, says Cyprus does not pose a systemic risk and therefore should not be granted money from the European Stability Mechanism (ESM). On Sunday, Der Spiegel newspaper reported that the head of the ECB, Mario Draghi, has argued against similar comments by the German finance minister, Wolfgang Schaüble.
Germany, the Netherlands, Austria and Finland are reported to be sceptical about Cyprus' desire to tackle money-laundering, reports Cyprus Mail. A delegation of Cypriot parliamentarians is in Brussels this week to brief the European Parliament on progress in this connection. The Cypriot finance minister, Vassos Shiarly, says Cyprus is being perfectly open on this matter, and he will be The Hague on Thursday to answer questions from the Dutch parliament. The Commission pointed out on Tuesday that the measures to tackle money-laundering were a necessary precondition for EU aid. Given Russia's involvement in the Cypriot economy, several EU leaders have called for a sharing of the bailout with Russia. According to the EUBusiness website, Shiarly said on Tuesday on a public broadcast channel that Russia may contribute some of the aid under examination by the eurozone. Paris has already called for Russia to attend the talks. (EL/transl.fl)