SIR – Peter Nielsen (letters, April 1) arrives at the conclusion that the EU’s stand on Cyprus constitutes a move toward ‘a more equal and just world’.

The deposit levy that the Cypriot government is enforcing at the behest of the EU constitutes theft.

What did ordinary savers do to be punished like this?

Next the troika of the ECB, the IMF and Germany will ensure a series of austerity measures are inflicted on the island, which will collapse the economy.

As part of the euro, Cyprus cannot devalue, and will find itself in the same economic prison as other Mediterranean countries.

What stinks the most is EU hypocrisy.International businesses are based on the island because of its tax regime (including much of the German shipping industry).

The EU let Cyprus into the union and the euro knowing full well about its tax and regulatory environment.

About 150,000 people work in the finance sector, out of a working population of 700,000.

The EU now appears to want to crush that part of the economy. Where’s the justice in all this?

JAMES GOAD

Worcester