EU and IMF agree €720bn boost for rescue plan
The European Union and the International Monetary Fund early Monday morning agreed an emergency funding facility worth as much as €720bn (£625bn) in loan guarantees and credits to stabilise the eurozone before financial markets opened.
As part of a massive EU plan to shock the markets into believing eurozone finances were sound, the European Central Bank was also set to play a big role by buying eurozone government debt.
Olli Rehn, European commissioner for economic and monetary affairs, said that the ECB had “taken a decision to intervene in the secondary market for government securities”.