Brussels - European Union governments endorsed Tuesday plans to raise the total amount of money available to member states which run into trouble as a result of the global credit crunch - from 12 billion euros (15 billion dollars) to 25 billion euros. In a statement, a council of finance ministers meeting in Brussels said the higher ceiling was needed because of "the evolution of the international economic situation" and because the EU has expanded to accommodate 12 new member states since the facility was created, in 2002.
The EU lends money to support the balance of payments of member states that run into major financial difficulty. Hungary, for instance, received EU loans of 6.5 billion euros on November 4.
Another new member state, Latvia, has also applied for EU support in countering the effects of the international financial crisis.
