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THE CYPRIOT PARLIAMENT finally gave its approval late this evening to the first two of eight measures hammered out by the government in a desperate bid to rescue an EU bailout by a Monday deadline.
MPs voted in favour of a national solidarity fund to be set up through the nationalisation of public and private sector pensions and of capital controls to prevent a run on the island’s troubled banks when they are finally due to open on Tuesday after a more than week-long break.
The votes followed prolonged talks between party leaders on the package aimed at raising 5.8 billion euros to unlock loans worth 10 billion euros or face being denied European Central Bank (ECB) emergency funds.
More contentious measures remain to be debated including a tax of up to 15 percent on bank deposits of 100,000 euros and more, a levy that in a slightly different form was rejected by MPs last Tuesday.
- © AFP 2013.
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Theft of savings. Disgrace
Tax is always theft.
but you see the difference in Cyprus compared to here is the Cypriots were straight out onto the streets leaving their elected leaders in no doubt that the whole Island would be torn up if they voted for the robbery. watch them go ape again now over this new “deal”
shame on us for standing back practically silent as our country is sold out from under us
The thug named Europe wins again….
It wasn’t Europe made the mess it was the Cypriots themselves.
No it was the banks and they have been bailed out once again with no consequences.
…and who regulated and controlled the banks?? …and who voted in those wanke4s?
Who voted them in yes that would be the public but it seems all the banks were up to the same thing and seems none of us knew. Did you if so why didn’t you tell the rest of us. As for regulation , isn’t that the governments job. So banks acted recklessly high on cheap credit, and government let them. But who is paying, we are. The ordinary citizen. Yes some got themselves into debt but I think it was the reckless borrowing to property developers and the brown envelopes that caused the banks to fail. Everyone I knew post recession was paying their debts off. They can’t pay now because they are trying to pay their own debt and the government wants them to pay bankers debt also crippling then and ruining their lives. Journal with your article about fairness, why don’t ye write about the fairness of what the eu is doing. Investigate it and report it. Some people need a shock to wake the hell up. Sick of statistics and number and stupid averages, real life stories.
have they ya?? watch how proud people react to such bullying
Here’s are the questions, with all the problems with our financial sector in Europe, what has been put in place to ensure it doesn’t happen again and the people who cause it are held accountable for it? Answer : NOTHING, that’s the biggest crime…
had the people really rallied at protests ht e last few years we would have had more a chance of seeing change, why would the “elite” bother their arse to do anything until they’re made by us. This is why there’s been nothing done so far!!
Right were they want them now.
Europe has secured another valuable oil and gas reserve.
have they ya?? watch how proud people react to their resources being stolen from them
Riot in the streets….stand up.
Civilised society.. I don’t know, I really do think we are going backwards in some respects.
The pen is mightier than the sword.
The only difference between Cyprus austerity measures and ours is that the government here is taking the money out of our wages before we get
It and Cyprus is taking liberties to people’s already earnt monies .
Boycott the property tax
Attackthetax.com legal challenge to property tax
The cyprus parliament rolls over
And all us fellow EU member states hide our heads in the sand
The Cypriot parliament was given no choice. Bailout with theft of 15% of deposits or banks close and 100% of deposits gone.
The most shameful act of EU finance ministers to date. Did they not pause to think of the consequences on the Cypriots when they forced so called aircuts on the Greek bondholders.
Wither now the “there will be no contagion” mantra. And to think our government were the first out of the blocks hailing the Troika demands as “good for Cyprus, good for Europe and good for Ireland”. What planet do these muppets live on.
maybe, like ours would, but the Cypriot people won’t roll over like we do
Hold on a second: who is holding the EU presidency?
it’s only symbolic at best but our government just had to run out and spend €2,500,000 on one website for it, another cost €54,000, they spent €70,000,000 on commemorative ties and tother useless items that will be given to “dignitaries” and they’ll go along and drop them in the nearest bin before getting on their private jet to get the hell out of this stupid country
checkmate
why is this not a simple loan from the ESM to bail out private banks who have become insolvent. ive listened to the shite about mechanisims for seperating private debt from soverign debt for the last while and fucc all has happened…whats the story lads..why is this not happening …why are the ECB pouring moniey into the banks and not saving the countries
its very simply john he who controls the currency controls the country. it was german money whihc got this while thing started. the kruts are doing thought trade and finance what they could never do whtough war they are going to want to being about federalization of all the banks. the are taking over the place
Welcome to a long road of suffering and misery for your people courtesy of the trioka and imf Cyprus.
the Cypriots haven’t lost yet, you must think they’re like us Irish by saying they’ve lost as soon as news comes out that the crazy “elite” have come up with a “solution”
Cypriots are not Irish and will not take this lying down.
Let the banks fail Iceland did it and held bankers accountable . They’ve proven it is the right route . They’ve got growth employment and a bright future cos the people came first . After all it’s a banking mess . Recklessness and here the get double there wages massive bonuses while the people lose there homes .!! Wake up ireland
As I’ve said before, if Cyprus had its own currency it would now be worth half of what it was. So 15% devaluation isn’t bad.
add on the interest and the undoubted loss of future revenues from their gas and perhaps 50% and the freedom to control their own future would be cheap;
Do people run Europe or do banks run europe ?
William, I suppose you would be only delighted if you were mugged in the street and they gave you the bus fare home.
You r very wrong Cyprus pound was one of the strongest currency in Europe and not only ..
Shane, if I was mugged I’d lose say 200E, the bus fare is 1E so that’s 1/2%. You’re exaggerating. Same as lying.
It’s a perfect example of the shock and awe hypothesis. Apply the big scare and then roll the ordinary citizens.
Pandora’s box is open. Cyprus is the start.
They saw Wat Russia offered and realised that EU deal didn’t seem as shocking.
What price does a person put on freedom?; a freedom that existed before “treaties” which as any kid who opened a history book knows were contributing factors to both World Wars. And seeing as we’re on the subject of banks ; where’s Mr. Varadkar now with his “3 holidays a year ?”
I get the feeling Kenny and co are runing out of road with the FG home tax, about time too
Another way to look at it is a (once off) tax on tax avoiders from other jurisdictions (Russians, British, Irish…).
Some of this lot will not be so upset with just a 10% haircut. Some will be putting it elsewhere in future, mind. Is it an own goal for Cyprus in the long run? Remains to be seen.
I know if I was a Cyprian I’d be taking all my money out of the banks next week. I don’t know how they’re going to stop this.
Isn’t that what “capital controls” means? Stopping people taking their money out of the banks.
And “nationalising pensions” – does that mean that old people won’t get the pensions they paid into all their lives? That’s certainly what’s happened in Ireland (in the private sector).
The Sinn Fein strategy of throwing two fingers to the EU has worked spectacularly well for the Cypriots, hasn’t it?!?!
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