Finance ministers from all European Union member states approved a financial aid package for Ireland amounting to 85 billion euros, reports hrt.hr
The package has an agreed flexible interest rate of an average of 5.8 percent per annum. This is higher than what Greece pays (5.2 percent), which received similar assistance last spring. Of the total amount, 35 billion is earmarked for Irish banks. Of that money, 10 billion will be directed towards urgent recapitalization, while the remainder will be available if needed as support for the banking sector. All ministers agree that the loan is the only way to preserve the financial stability of the eurozone and the European Union as a whole. Financial support was approved based on a program agreed upon by the Irish government, the European Commission, the International Monetary Fund, and the European Central Bank.
In the approved amount, Ireland itself contributes 17.5 billion euros. Of the remaining 67.5 billion euros, two-thirds is contributed by the EU, while the IMF contributes 22.5 billion. The financial aid package for Ireland has been bilaterally contributed to by the United Kingdom with 3.8 billion, Sweden with 0.6 billion, and Denmark with 0.4 billion euros. As a condition for assistance, the Irish government had to implement a four-year program of drastic austerity to reduce its massive budget deficit of 32 percent to the allowed 3 percent by 2015. (www.hrt.hr)
