Eurogroup approves third bailout tranche for Cyprus

Finance ministers of the 17-member Eurogroup endorsed the disbursement of the next tranche of financial assistance to Cyprus on Monday. "After completion of the national procedures and formal approval by the ESM governing bodies, the ESM is scheduled to disburse 100 million euro (USD 137 million) by the end of this year," said the ministers in a statement after the end of their meeting here tonight. The European Stability Mechanism, ESM, is the permanent EU fund to give financial assistance to eurogroup members states when they face economic and financial problems. The statement noted that the economic adjustment programme in Cyprus "is on track" and added that the International Monetary Fund is scheduled to decide on the disbursement of an additional 86 million euro (USD 118 million) on December 20. The Eurogroup last March decided to bailout Cyprus with 10 billion euro (USD 13.7 billion) during the next three years to save the country from bankruptcy. The ESM is expected to provide up to 9 billion euro and the IMF is to contribute 1 billion euro.