Brussels, 06/02/2013 (Agence Europe) - Germany will not block financial aid to Cyprus as long as the island meets the aid criteria of the European Stability Mechanism (ESM), explained German Deputy Finance Minister Steffen Kampeter recently, Bloomberg reports. Kampeter said, however, that a number of issues remained to be clarified, such as the danger to eurozone stability of a Cypriot default, the size of the country's financial sector in the future and tackling money-laundering.
The German ruling coalition and opposition agree that Cyprus needs to provide more information, said Kampeter, sweeping aside the idea that the Bundestag would not give the go-ahead to a bailout for Cyprus. Further decisions are also needed by the Cypriot government on privatisation, he added. Outgoing Cypriot President Dimitris Christofias opposes privatisation as a way of making the country's debt affordable.
Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, took a similar line to Kampeter: “I've always listened to those who said 'yes, we need to have solidarity, we belong together - this currency is important for us all. But I've also said that those who don't change at home - who don't do their homework - it'll be more difficult to help them. And in the end we'll all be affected”. (EL/transl.fl)