A senior Cypriot official told Reuters that a plan to tapnationalized pension funds would not be a part of a plan to raisebillions of euros in return for a bailout from the European Union.Cyprus said earlier on Saturday that it was looking at seizing aquarter of the value of big deposits at its largest bank in orderto raise such funds.
"Unfortunately, the events of recent days have led to asituation where there are no longer any optimal solutionsavailable. Today, there are only hard choices left," EuropeanUnion Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn said ina statement.
Cyprus is scrambling to come up with €5.8 billion by Monday, orface being kicked out of the Eurozone. The cash is a prerequisitefor a further €10 billion in bailout funds.
Lawmakers' rejection of a previous proposal to tax all bankdeposits prompted the European Central Bank to threaten to cut offemergency funding to Cypriot banks unless a deal was reached byMarch 25. Banks have been shut all week, and are due to reopen onMarch 26.
Earlier on Saturday, at least 1,000 bank workers in Cyprus hit thestreets of the country’s capital of Nicosia. The demonstratorsmarched against the latest bailout measures taken by the country’scentral bank.
“You destroy our work and steal our pensions,”demonstrators chanted as they marched to the Cypriot Parliament.One protester held a banner which read, “Hands off pensionfunds.”
All ages were present at the demonstration, with many parentspushing their children down the street in strollers.
“I’ve been working for 20 years and I’ve paid all the taxesof all my pension contributions and every Euro. Now I run the riskof losing my job and my pension, and I will have no money tosupport my children,” Cyprus Popular Bank employee AngelaPanayotou said, as quoted by Ria Novosti.
Panayotou, who brought her five children along to the rally,says she believes plans to split the Cyprus Popular Bank in two tobe a political move.
“We are convinced that the bank is viable, and it there’s noneed to close it,” she said.
The Cypriot parliament has adopted a new bailout plan which iscomprised of nine laws about the recovery of the country’sfinancial system. One of the laws gives the Cypriot Central Bankspecial authorities due to concerns the financial system may collapse.
