EU agrees to Cyprus bailout

Eurozone finance ministers have pledged to agree a bailout for Cyprus by the end of March, but details of how the rescue will be financed are yet to be sorted out. Cyprus requested a bailout in June last year but it was not possible to reach an agreement with the last, communist-led government. A new, conservative government took office last month and negotiations have intensified.

The Eurogroup will reconvene again in the near term in view of the progress of the discussions between the Cypriot authorities and the international institutions. Cyprus sought international aid to support banks which took huge losses on bad Greek debt and loans and to pay its bills.

Cyprus has also agreed to an independent audit of its banks as demanded by the Eurogroup. Until now Nicosia was opposed to the idea of hiring an independent auditor to probe its banks’ alleged involvement in laundering ill-gotten money. The independent audit was a condition for the release of any bailout.

Listen to the report by correspondent Nathan Morley: