Dublin, 12/04/2013 (Agence Europe) - At their meeting in Dublin on Friday 12 April, eurozone finance ministers said that financial aid from the eurozone stability mechanism and the International Monetary Fund would not exceed €10 billion.
The head of the Eurogroup, Jeroen Dijsselbloem, said there would be €9 billion from the ESM and €1 billion from the IMF (assuming the latter endorses the aid package). The lenders are sticking to the amounts decided upon in talks with Cyprus at the end of March. The Cypriot press has been reporting that further aid will be needed - some €23 billion in total, €6 billion more than the €17 billion agreed upon.
Euro Commissioner Olli Rehn said that a right mishmash emerged if one tried to report based on the various leaks. He said that the €23 billion referred to the total amount needed, whereas €17 billion was the net amount. Commenting on the extra cash reported to have been requested by Cyprus, the Commissioner said that on Thursday, he had talked with the Cypriot president about re-allocation of structural fund cash with the aid of technical assistance from the European Commission. Rehn admitted it was difficult for the country's lenders to predict the size of the economic recession that will be experienced by Cyprus, suggesting that the economy might shrink by between 10% and 15%.
The finance ministers endorsed the agreement reached between the troika (European Commission, IMF and ECB) and the Cypriot government as complying with the parameters and objectives laid down by the Eurogroup at the end of March, said Dijsselbloem. This endorsement paves the way for the deal to be ratified by national parliaments in the countries requiring this (Germany, for example) so that the cash can reach Cyprus. The aim is for the first batch of aid (from the ESM) to arrive in mid-May. The average repayment deadline for the loans for Cyprus will be 15 years and the maximum deadline 20 years, said ESM head Klaus Regling.
Cypriot finance minister Harris Georgiades said the Eurogroup decision was “an acknowledgement of the efforts of Cyprus and its people”. (MB/transl.fl)