Luxembourg, 21/06/2013 (Agence Europe) - Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades' call for a long-term solution to the liquidity problems facing Bank of Cyprus (BoC) (see EUROPE 10865) was not addressed by the Eurogroup on Tuesday 20 June, but may be discussed by the European Summit.
The eurozone only has one answer to the request from Cyprus, which it has been interpreted as an attack on the deal agreed in March. The chair of the Eurogroup, Jeroen Dijsselbloem, said they agreed that a “determined and speedy implementation” of the aid programme was needed. The restructuring of BoC must be completed as soon as possible, once the results of the audit by KPMG are known in a month's time. The Eurogroup said this will help restore confidence in the country's banks. Dijsselbloem said that the Cypriot finance minister had “reconfirmed his commitment” to the aid programme.
Does this mean that nothing will be done? Not necessarily. Three Cypriot sources say that the president of the European Council, Herman Van Rompuy, has responded in writing to Anastasiades' letter. One of the sources says that Van Rompuy has promised to address the questions brought to the attention of the lenders at the European Summit on 27 and 28 June. In Van Rompuy's circles, the existence of such a letter is denied and they say that Cyprus will not be on the summit's agenda, but a bilateral meeting between Van Rompuy and Anastasiades is scheduled on the fringes of the EU summit. (EL/transl.fl)