Eurozone finance ministers formally approved on Friday the terms of a Cyprus debt bailout, after some confusion over whether it needed revision, saying it could now go ahead once cleared by national parliaments.
Dutch Finance Minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem, head of the 17-nation Eurogroup, said the ministers “welcomed the staff level agreement achieved between Cyprus” and its international creditors, with the terms “fully in line with” a March 25 accord.
Earlier today, it had appeared that Cyprus wanted additional aid after the overall bailout cost increased to 23 billion euros from the 17 billion euros agreed last month.
Cypriot officials clarified that Nicosia was instead hoping to get other funding from the European Commission, such as in grants for infrastructure or other projects so as to support a besieged economy expected to shrink by 12.5 per cent -- or even 15 per cent -- in the next two years.