Cyprus today became the fifth eurozone country to seek financial assistance from the EU's rescue funds.
"The purpose of the required assistance is to contain the risks to the Cypriot economy, notably those arising from the negative spill over effects through its financial sector, due to its large exposure in the Greek economy," a government announcement said.
Cyprus is fiercely protective of a corporate tax rate that is one of the lowest in the EU and eight months before a general election shows no appetite for the stringent spending cuts that any EU funding would tie it to.
Moscow already provided Cyprus with €2.5bn in a bilateral loan last year and has an interest in maintaining Cyprus as an offshore financial centre with low tax rates for Russian businessmen, who use it as a base to reinvest in Russia.
However, seeking such large sums from Moscow or Beijing is controversial in Cyprus, where EU membership is a matter of national pride.
However, seeking such large sums from Moscow or Beijing is controversial in Cyprus, where EU membership is a matter of national pride.
That makes 5.
Cyprus is a small country with a small economy so this doesnt carry a great deal of significance in affecting the available bailout funds. More importantly, it's further poor PR for the eurozone, another psychological blow.
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