By a cruel twist of fate Cyprus is poised to take the chair as EU president tasked with guiding Europe out of financial chaos just as it becomes the fifth eurozone state to seek a Brussels bailout.

Cyprus has the unenviable tag of being the first country to hold the six-month rotating presidency – from today – while negotiating EU emergency aid.

Nicosia has waited eight years – since joining the EU in 2004 – for its chance on the bigger stage but now all the talk is about stemming debt contagion not the presidency.

Officials from the European Commission, the IMF and the European Central Bank are expected to arrive on the island tomorrow to assess the situation of the banking system and any other fiscal requirement the government needs. Negotiations will set the amount Cyprus needs as well as spell out the reforms it will be required to carry out in return.

And it has not gone unnoticed that a country that now takes over the job of securing agreement on Europe’s budget financial framework waited until it ran out of options before requesting help.Financial analyst Fiona Mullen told AFP the timing of the bailout request on June 25 only sharpened the world’s gaze on the Mediterranean island’s economic plight.

“That the government waited until the last minute to apply for a bailout highlighted the fact Cyprus is in trouble and put the presidency in focus. If it had applied earlier it would have avoided world attention.”

She said Cyprus was now in an awkward position when it comes to handling Europe’s creaking economy, placing Nicosia in a weaker position when negotiating the EU budget.

“It would be embarrassing for any country to hold the EU presidency when asking its partners for money.”