Thursday

28th Mar 2024

EU defiant over €5.8bn raid on Cypriot savings

EU officials remained defiant on controversial plans for a Cypriot bailout on Monday (18 March), the most tumultuous day for the euro so far in 2013.

Following an emergency conference call of eurozone finance ministers on Monday evening, the Eurogroup refused to backtrack on a deal which includes a one-off raid worth €5.8 billion on deposits held in Cyprus' stricken banks.

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Get the EU news that really matters

Instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

Dutch finance minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem, who chairs the 17-member euro club, said the deal on offer is fair.

"Cyprus would have faced scenarios that would have left deposit holders significantly worse off," he noted.

However, while the Cypriot government is expected to exempt savers holding less than €20,000, it is still expected to raise the €5.8 billion demanded by creditors one way or another.

This increases the prospect of harsher levies on the wealthiest depositors.

EU sources indicated that a 15.6 percent levy on savers holding more than €100,000 was mooted to protect smaller savers.

Djisselbloem urged Cypriot politicians to make a "swift decision" and to "rapidly implement the agreed measures."

He added that the levy could be applied with more flexibility "provided that it continues yielding the targeted reduction of the financing envelope and….not impact the overall amount of financial assistance up to €10 billion."

The Cypriot parliament is set to vote on the package on Tuesday.

The vote was initially scheduled for Sunday, was postponed to give the government more time to negotiate.

With his centre-right coalition holding 29 of the 56 seats, the newly elected centre-right President Nicos Anastasiades faces an uphill battle to secure a majority after opposition parties signalled they would oppose the deal.

Meanwhile, Cypriot banks will remain closed until Thursday in a bid to prevent a bank run from anxious savers.

In a volatile day for the single currency, the euro on Monday fell to 1.29 against the US dollar, its lowest level in three months, on fears that the Cypriot deal might spark panic among savers in other crisis-hit countries, such as Italy.

Recriminations also intensified as eurozone politicians and central bankers denied responsibility for imposing the deposit levy, which, in its original form, would tax 6.75 percent of savings under €100,000 and 9.9 percent on savings over €100,000.

The bailout plan was condemned by Russia, with billions of euros of Russian money said to be Cypriot banks.

A spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin attacked it as "unfair, unprofessional and dangerous" ahead of a visit to Moscow on Wednesday by Cypriot finance minister Michalis Sarris.

For its part, the US government urged the EU to reach an agreement that is "responsible and fair and ensures financial stability."

And the UK government, which was not party to to the euro-using countries' talks, became the first to say it will compensate 3,000 British soldiers stationed on the Mediterranean Island.

It also announced plans to temporarily suspend pension payments to the estimated 18,000 retired Britons in Cyprus, with treasury minister Greg Clark saying that "a normal payment service will resume as soon as the situation in Cyprus becomes clear."

Cyprus heading for bank run after bailout deal

The Cyprus bailout deal on losses for all bank savers - from pensioners to Russian oligarchs - is turning into a bank run, with dangerous implications for other crisis-hit countries.

'Swiftly dial back' interest rates, ECB told

Italian central banker Piero Cipollone in his first monetary policy speech since joining the ECB's board in November, said that the bank should be ready to "swiftly dial back our restrictive monetary policy stance."

Opinion

EU Modernisation Fund: an open door for fossil gas in Romania

Among the largest sources of financing for energy transition of central and eastern European countries, the €60bn Modernisation Fund remains far from the public eye. And perhaps that's one reason it is often used for financing fossil gas projects.

Latest News

  1. Kenyan traders react angrily to proposed EU clothes ban
  2. Lawyer suing Frontex takes aim at 'antagonistic' judges
  3. Orban's Fidesz faces low-polling jitters ahead of EU election
  4. German bank freezes account of Jewish peace group
  5. EU Modernisation Fund: an open door for fossil gas in Romania
  6. 'Swiftly dial back' interest rates, ECB told
  7. Moscow's terror attack, security and Gaza
  8. Why UK-EU defence and security deal may be difficult

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Nordic Council of MinistersJoin the Nordic Food Systems Takeover at COP28
  2. Nordic Council of MinistersHow women and men are affected differently by climate policy
  3. Nordic Council of MinistersArtist Jessie Kleemann at Nordic pavilion during UN climate summit COP28
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersCOP28: Gathering Nordic and global experts to put food and health on the agenda
  5. Friedrich Naumann FoundationPoems of Liberty – Call for Submission “Human Rights in Inhume War”: 250€ honorary fee for selected poems
  6. World BankWorld Bank report: How to create a future where the rewards of technology benefit all levels of society?

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Georgia Ministry of Foreign AffairsThis autumn Europalia arts festival is all about GEORGIA!
  2. UNOPSFostering health system resilience in fragile and conflict-affected countries
  3. European Citizen's InitiativeThe European Commission launches the ‘ImagineEU’ competition for secondary school students in the EU.
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersThe Nordic Region is stepping up its efforts to reduce food waste
  5. UNOPSUNOPS begins works under EU-funded project to repair schools in Ukraine
  6. Georgia Ministry of Foreign AffairsGeorgia effectively prevents sanctions evasion against Russia – confirm EU, UK, USA

Join EUobserver

EU news that matters

Join us