How long will capital restrictions last in Cyprus? ‘Can’t say’

To the European Commission headquarters this morning for a briefing with Michel Barnier, the Frenchman who is commissioner in charge of banking. The press pack wanted to talk about – what else? – Cyprus. But Barnier wanted to talk about his green paper on the long term financing of the European economy. 

Which made for the usual pantomime: the journalists sat and scrolled through emails while Barnier read out his plans on how to finance the EU economy without depending so much on banking (good luck there, commissioner). When he finished, the reporters looked up and started the questions about the banks in Cyprus.

Reuters asked how long capital restrictions would last in Cyprus. Barnier began to answer in French, so most of the journalists clapped on their earphones to hear the simultaneous translation. But even having most of his audience sitting there looking like Resistance wireless operators couldn’t make the Frenchman shift into English.