Cyprus Mail www.cyprus-mail.com
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
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EU is committed to a bailout deal EU hails money laundering audit, but avoids pledge on deposits’ haircut By Stefanos Evripidou THE EUROGROUP yesterday pledged to agree a bailout for Cyprus by the end of March, following agreement last night on an “independent evaluation” of the island’s anti money-laundering framework. However, the details of how the rescue will be financed and whether a haircut on bank deposits will be imposed have yet to be sorted out, according to Reuters. Nor were any details immediately available on what form the money laundering audit will take. Speaking after the meeting of eurozone finance ministers in Brussels, Eurogroup chairman Jeroen Dijsselbloem told a news conference that EU ministers were ready to help Cyprus overhaul its economy, and especially its oversized banking sector. “We agreed to target a political endorsement of the programme towards the second half of March,” Dijsselbloem said, referring to the rescue package, which is set to total up to €17 billion. Removing one of the stumbling blocks for an agreement, Dijsselbloem said that the new Cypriot authorities had agreed to an independent review of how Cypriot banks are implementing anti money-laundering laws. That is likely to appease Germany, which has raised concerns about moneylaundering on the island. No details were given last night on what kind of “independent evaluation” would be un-
dertaken, leaving it unclear as to whether agreement had been reached on private auditors working alone or in collaboration with institutions like the Council of Europe’s Moneyval. According to the Cyprus News Agency, when asked whether it would be Moneyval operating in Cyprus under the auspices of the Cyprus Central Bank, Dijsselbloem said he had been at another meeting when that specific decision was taken, but he added that his understanding was the audit would be undertaken by a private company since that was the key sticking point. Yesterday was the first Eurogroup meeting for President Nicos Anastasiades’ new government, who was represented by finance minister Michalis Sarris. In the build-up to the key meeting, Sarris spoke with a number of foreign news outlets, laying out his negotiating strategy for the bailout. According to the Wall Street Journal, Sarris said Cyprus was willing to meet the troika halfway on privatisations, downsizing its banking sector and auditing its anti money-laundering framework but in return wanted a clear commitment that there would be no ‘bailin’ of bank depositors. This option of forcing losses on large deposit holders in Cypriot banks and senior bondholders has been doing the rounds recently, mostly in the German press. Figures released last week showed a little over 2 per
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PARIS FASHION WEEK
A model presents a creation by British designer Stella McCartney yesterday as part of her Fall-Winter women’s ready-to-wear fashion show during Paris fashion week (AFP)
Baby appears to have been ‘functionally cured’ of AIDS A BABY born with the virus that causes AIDS appears to have been cured, scientists have announced. Specialists at a major AIDS meeting in Atlanta, Georgia, described the case of a child from Mississippi, who is now two and a half and has been off medication for about a year, with no signs of infection. There is no guarantee the child will remain healthy, although sophisticated testing uncovered just traces of the virus’ genetic material still lingering. If so, it would be only the world’s second reported cure. Experts say the announcement offers promising clues for efforts to eliminate HIV infection in children, especially in AIDS-plagued African countries where too many babies are born with the virus. “You could call this about as close to a cure, if not a cure, that we’ve seen,” Dr Anthony Fauci of the National Institutes of Health said. A doctor gave the baby faster and stronger treatment than usual, starting a three-drug infusion within 30 hours of birth. That was before tests confirmed the infant was infected and not just at risk from a mother whose HIV was not diagnosed until she was in labour. That fast action apparently knocked out HIV in the baby’s blood before it could form hideouts in the body. Those so-called reservoirs of dormant cells usually rapidly reinfect anyone who stops medication, said Dr Deborah Persaud of Johns Hopkins Children’s Centre. She led the investigation that deemed the child “functionally cured”, meaning in long-term remission even if all traces of the virus have not been completely eradicated.