CYPRUS CRISIS

That this House believes that the proposed EU bail-out of Cypriot banks has been a complete disaster; notes that the proposal has understandably been rejected by the Cypriot parliament; further notes that retail bank depositors across the EU will now be extremely concerned that the ongoing financial crisis could lead to them losing part of their savings; further notes that Cypriot banks remain on the verge of collapse; further notes that this double whammy threatens to produce contagion which would wreak further havoc on the financial system and threaten a further severe downturn in the EU economy and all because of a 6 billion euro levy on retail Cypriot bank depositors who have no responsibility for the banking crisis; further notes that Britain will not be immune from the shockwaves emanating from Cyprus; deplores the fact that the Government has done little or nothing to help find a solution to the crisis in Cyprus but has instead stood on the sidelines and merely sent a plane with a million euros to help British military personnel stationed in Cyprus; further believes that this crisis has partly come about because of the neo-liberal policy of deregulating the financial system worldwide, championed by British Governments over many years and a failure therefore to establish proper regulation of banks within the EU including Cyprus; further believes that no solution will be found to the Cypriot crisis without the active involvement of the Russian authorities whose citizens have very large amounts of money in Cypriot banks; and calls on the Government to get actively involved with its EU partners and the Russian authorities in finding a solution which will stabilise the Cypriot banking system and reassure retail depositors across the EU.