Cyprus faces hard choices, tough future: EU's Rehn

Cyprus faces a very difficult near-term future and must take hard decisions, with no perfect solution available, European Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn said on Saturday

Rehn said the European Commission was working hard to bring about a solution to help Cyprus and that it was essential that euro zone finance ministers reached an agreement on Sunday evening on a rescue deal.

"Unfortunately, the events of recent days have led to a situation where there are no longer any optimal solutions available. Today, there are only hard choices left," Rehn said in a statement.

(Reporting By Philip Blenkinsop; Editing by Michael Roddy)