A bailout deal between Nicosia and the troika of lenders namely the European Central Bank (ECB), the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the European Union (EU) has drawn criticism from the speaker of the Cypriot parliament.
“We had the decision from the Euro group, this decision is painful for Cypriot people. This decision was a defeat…,” Yiannakis Omirou said on Monday.
Omirou made the remarks after Cyprus and international lenders reportedly reached a bailout agreement to save the cash-strapped island nation from bankruptcy.
European Union sources said that the agreement was reached early on Monday in Brussels. The deal paves the way for the country to receive a 10-billion-euro (USD 13 billion) bailout.
Later in the day, in another meeting in the same building in Brussels, the eurozone’s finance ministers also approved the deal.
The sources said that the deal will include a tax of up to 40 percent on deposits of over 100,000 euros in Cyprus’ two biggest banks.
The country’s banks are shut nationwide until March 26 to prevent cash withdrawals, prompting people to form long lines at cash machines, which only dispense a lowered daily amount of 260 euros for each individual account.
The 10-billion-euro bailout would also save Cyprus from bankruptcy and possibly guarantee its future in the 17-nation eurozone, reports say.
People in Cyprus have taken to the streets to protest the bailout deal. The protesters gathered outside the parliament in the capital Nicosia.
Cypriot protesters denounced their government, the EU and the IMF for their austerity policies.
MAM/JR/SS
