‘Cyprus does not set a precedent’

Cyprus’s decision to force losses on bank deposits doesn’t set a precedent for the rest of the euro region, EU president Herman Van Rompuy said in an interview with De Zondag.

Mr Van Rompuy was cited as saying that eurozone finance ministers made an “unfortunate decision” in approving an initial plan to tax bank accounts below the EU-insured limit of €100,000.

That plan, which was rejected by the Cypriot parliament, and a subsequent agreement to force losses on creditors of the country’s two largest banks, won’t threaten other nations, he said in an interview with the Belgian newspaper.