Post date: Mar 17, 2013 5:8:45 PM
Chancellor George Osborne says the treasury will compensate any British government and military personnel whose bank accounts in Cyprus are hit by theEuropean Union bailout levy.
LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM (MARCH 17, 2013) (BBC ANDREW MARRSHOW) - Britain will compensate its military personnel based in Cyprus hit by a bank levy imposed on Cypriot accounts as part of a euro zone bailout, finance minister George Osborne said on Sunday (March 17, 2013).
"For people serving in our military, people serving in our government in Cyprus - because we have military bases ther - we are going to compensate anyone who is affected by this bank tax. People who are doing their duty for our country inCyprus will be protected from the Cypriot bank tax," he told the BBC's Andrew Marrshow.Britain has about 3,500 military personnel based in Cyprus.
The euro zone agreed on Saturday to hand Cyprus a bailout worth 10 billion euros (13 billion US dollars) but demanded depositors in its banks forfeit some money to stave off bankruptcy.