News Summary: Eurozone to hold meeting on Cyprus
Finance ministers of the 17-nation eurozone to hold special meeting on planned Cyprus bailout
CYPRUS MEETING: The finance ministers of the 17 euro countries will hold a special meeting this week to discuss a much-delayed bailout package for Cyprus.
THE SITUATION: Auditors have estimated Cyprus will need as much as €17 billion ($22 billion), more than half of which would go to shore up its banks, which took huge losses on Greek debt.
THE PROBLEM: The "troika" of creditors — the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund — is only willing to lend Cyprus around €10 billion because of doubts over the country's ability to repay its loans, Cypriot officials said. A sum of €17 billion would be equivalent to the size of the country's entire economy.
