The Frankfurter Allgemeine reports today (p. 6) that the international community is willing to give EUR 2 billion in support, if the population of Cyprus will approve a plan for reunification in a referendum next Saturday, April 24. That’s according to represntatives of 34 countries and international financial organizations who met at a donor conference in Brussels this week.
Approval is still an open question, particularly among Greek Cypriots whose representative at the conference — in a move that surely took the donors by surprise — lobbied for more money.
More important, the new Greek prime minister promised continued support for improved Turkish links with the EU. As long as that course is continued, Cyprus recedes as a larger question and becomes a local sideshow. At that stage, Greek Cypriots may well be correct that they have the upper hand, as they will be EU members. Equally, however, the international community is much less likely to be interested in the outcome. That EUR 2600 each, which the Greek Cypriot representative called insufficient, would surely shrink.
Feed: A Fistful of Euros