EU ministers to okay Ireland's euro 85 billion bailout
Monday, 29 November 2010
BRUSSELS, Nov 28 (AP): European Union nations planned to sign off on a proposed euro 85 billion ($113 billion) emergency loan for Ireland Sunday after a two-week effort designed to prevent the spread of bankruptcy risks to other eurozone countries, officials said.
Belgian Finance Minister Didier Reynders said as he arrived at a a hastily called meeting that "we will conclude about Ireland and we will organise the best solution for the eurozone" to resist the growing economic crisis.
Irish officials in Dublin said the EU ministers at the meeting in Brussels were poring over a series of documents spelling out proposed terms and conditions for loans from across the globe, but chiefly from Ireland's debt-burdened European partners.
"We're nearly there, we've made great progress in the talks in Dublin in recent weeks, but there can't be an agreement until it's signed off and approved at political level," said an Irish government official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk on the record about the negotiations.
The European Central Bank earlier this month forced Ireland's hand into accepting a bailout as it became clear that several state-backed banks in Dublin were struggling to raise funds and were instead relying on euro130 billion in short-term loans supplied or approved by the Frankfurt bank.
All sides in the Brussels talks said they hoped to announce at least an outline loan agreement before markets open Monday. In the mix were bilateral loan offers from Britain, Sweden and Denmark, which are not members of the euro currency but have major business interests in Ireland.
While many EU finance ministers were already gathered around the same table in Brussels, aides to Irish Finance Minister Brian Lenihan said he was still en route to the EU capital because of delays caused by exceptional snowfall in Dublin.
Most Irish people and many economists say the emerging loan package should include requirements that foreign banks that loaned hundreds of billions to Irish banks should share the cost of the Irish bailout.
But until now, the Irish government and European Commission have been unanimous in ruling out any partial defaults on Irish bank debts, arguing this would cause unpredictable shockwaves in global banking. The major lenders to Ireland's debt-crippled banks are from Britain, Germany and the United States.
European chiefs have expressed hopes that an Irish financial rescue, regardless of its terms, will restore faith in the ability of the 16-nation eurozone to prevent defaults among its members.
Belgian Finance Minister Didier Reynders said as he arrived at a a hastily called meeting that "we will conclude about Ireland and we will organise the best solution for the eurozone" to resist the growing economic crisis.
Irish officials in Dublin said the EU ministers at the meeting in Brussels were poring over a series of documents spelling out proposed terms and conditions for loans from across the globe, but chiefly from Ireland's debt-burdened European partners.
"We're nearly there, we've made great progress in the talks in Dublin in recent weeks, but there can't be an agreement until it's signed off and approved at political level," said an Irish government official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk on the record about the negotiations.
The European Central Bank earlier this month forced Ireland's hand into accepting a bailout as it became clear that several state-backed banks in Dublin were struggling to raise funds and were instead relying on euro130 billion in short-term loans supplied or approved by the Frankfurt bank.
All sides in the Brussels talks said they hoped to announce at least an outline loan agreement before markets open Monday. In the mix were bilateral loan offers from Britain, Sweden and Denmark, which are not members of the euro currency but have major business interests in Ireland.
While many EU finance ministers were already gathered around the same table in Brussels, aides to Irish Finance Minister Brian Lenihan said he was still en route to the EU capital because of delays caused by exceptional snowfall in Dublin.
Most Irish people and many economists say the emerging loan package should include requirements that foreign banks that loaned hundreds of billions to Irish banks should share the cost of the Irish bailout.
But until now, the Irish government and European Commission have been unanimous in ruling out any partial defaults on Irish bank debts, arguing this would cause unpredictable shockwaves in global banking. The major lenders to Ireland's debt-crippled banks are from Britain, Germany and the United States.
European chiefs have expressed hopes that an Irish financial rescue, regardless of its terms, will restore faith in the ability of the 16-nation eurozone to prevent defaults among its members.