Cyprus approves reform programme linked to bailout funds

Cypriot lawmakers on early Friday morning approved a set of reforms required for the country to receive the next tranche of an international bailout, officials said.

“We can breathe again,” a Finance Ministry official told DPA after the parliamentary vote, which followed a lengthy and at times stormy debate.

Agreeing to pass the reforms was a condition of receiving €1.5 billion in bailout money to help the country’s struggling economy.

Finance Minister Haris Georgiades reportedly rushed to parliament to talk to opposition lawmakers after MPs initially rejected a key part of the reform package, state television station RIK said.

Hundreds of people protested against the reforms outside the parliament building.