Arrivals for meeting of Party of European Socialists скачать в хорошем качестве

Arrivals for meeting of Party of European Socialists

(28 Jun 2012) Cyprus President Demetris Christofias said on Thursday his country may possibly use Russian and Chinese bailout money as well as EU financial aid at a European Socialist meeting in Brussels, prior to crucial EU economic summit later in the day. Christofias' statement came as plans were being firmed up by the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund to assess how much money Cyprus will need to prop up its banks and flagging economy. "It's not a sin, let me say, to have the assistance of the Union at the same time as the assistance of the Russians or the Chinese," Christofias said. Cypriot officials say a loan from another country would strengthen the country's hand in negotiations with the EU on the kind of austerity measures required. Cyprus government spokesmen said on Tuesday that clinching an outside loan will have a direct bearing on how much EU bailout money will ask for. ECB, IMF and EC officials have been planning to carry out an in-depth study into the Cypriot banking system and economy to calculate how much the country will need. The eurozone welcomed Cyprus' request for financial aid, saying that it is confident negotiated austerity measures would help the country return to a path of "sustainable growth." Cyprus, which began using the euro in 2008, needs 1.8 (b) billion euros (2.25 (b) billion US dollars) to help recapitalise Cyprus Popular Bank, its second largest lender that suffered the biggest losses from the writedown of Greek government bonds. But on Wednesday, Bank of Cyprus - the island's largest - said it would ask the government for 500 (m) million euros (621 (m) US dollars) in "temporary support" to help it meet is own recapitalisation targets. Arriving at the same meeting, Austrian Chancellor Werner Faymann said that Europe has to take steps towards mutualisation of the debt because if not, "those who have a very low debt now will have to pay for the others if the others go bankrupt." Martin Schulz, President of the European Parliament, also announced he will push for "an inter-institutional agreement between Council, Commission and Parliament for immediate action on growth and employment." Eurobonds, Greece, Cyprus, Spanish banks and ways to create growth in the EU are among the topics of the day at the economic summit. Yet expectations of a breakthrough on the explosive issue of pooling government debt seem to have fallen by the wayside. German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who has resolutely opposed the issuing of mutual debt, known as eurobonds, is the woman to watch, fear or confront at the two-day summit. Many leaders have backed the idea of eurobonds as a key way of fixing the eurozone's problems as they would spread debt risk, lowering indebted countries' borrowing rates. But Merkel has been reluctant to expose her country to new costs, and is concerned eurobonds may minimise the pressure on countries like Greece and Spain to reform their economies. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...