The Cypriot government has informed Brussels that it will seek access to the European European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) and European Stability Mechanism (ESM) bailout funds to prop up its financial sector, according to The Guardian . . .  the move comes only days ahead of a ‘crunch’ European summit on the debt crisis . . . on Monday, the rating agency Finch joined Moody’s and Standard and Poor in downgrading Cyprus‘ credit status to ‘junk‘ due to its exposure to the unravelling Greek crisis . . . the same rating agency projects that the country will need approximately 4 billion euros ($5 billion), which amounts to a quarter of the country’s GDP . . . the Cypriot government is still considering seeking financial help from Russia or China to avoid stringent conditions attached to the EU funds . . . Cyprus becomes the fifth member of the Eurozone to ask for an EU bail-out, further highlighting the risk of contagion of the Greek crisis . . . Cypriot wavering also signals the increasing unease among Eurozone countries about austerity requirements coupled to EU bailout-outs.