Cyprus Government, Opposition Agree on Package to Cut Deficit

Cyprus’s government and opposition parties agreed on a package of austerity measures to reduce the budget deficit as the economy’s recovery is threatened by blackouts after a power plant explosion this month.

“The first package of fiscal measures has been agreed,” Stefanos Stefanou, a government spokesman, told reporters in Nicosia today after President Demetris Christofias met coalition and opposition party leaders. “The dialogue will continue in the next days and will focus on short-term measures.”