EU verdeeld over uitbreiding Europees monetair noodfonds (en)
EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - Finance ministers from European member states that use the single currency met on Monday (17 January) for further talks over a possible boost to the zone's bail-out fund, but no firm decisions were taken.
A range of possible options for beefing up the fund, but the ministers remained for the most part tight-lipped on what course of action they would take, saying only that their ideas had a "very high level of convergence," in the words of Jean-Claude Juncker i, the Luxembourgish prime minister and the chair of the euro group of countries.
"We made commitments in May, these commitments will be respected," he said. "We are looking into the different instruments we can press into service in order to do that."
At issue is the real size of the European Financial Stability Fund (EFSF).
While the kitty officially amounts to €440 billion, as more countries become borrowers from rather than guarantors of the fund, the actual size - or 'effective lending capacity' - of the fund currently sits at roughly €250 billion.
Some governments favour a hike in the effective lending capacity to the full €440 billion, while others are looking to a doubling of the fund. But to do so would require further credit guarantees from eurozone states in a less precarious situation, notably Germany and France.
Ahead of the meeting, the head of the European Central Bank, Jean-Claude Trichet i and Belgian finance minister Didier Reynders said that the overall size of the EFSF should be hiked, while the commission favours an expansion of its effective lending capacity.
Europe's wider group of finance ministers, including those from beyond the eurozone, will continue talks on the subject on Tuesday.
Mr Juncker said that EU premiers and presidents would be delivered a package of proposed changes to the bail-out fund "as soon as possible", but would not be drawn on precisely when.
He did however say: "We'll speed up our work."
Ministers also discussed a lowering of charges on bail-outs for Ireland and Greece, the two countries that have so far knocked on the door of rescue funds, but no decision was taken on this subject either.
Separately, the members of the eurozone with Triple-A rating, Austria, Finland. France, Germany, Luxembourg and the Netherlands had their own meeting to attempt to reach their own consensus on matters.
It is not believed that the ‘super-solvent six' came to a consensus, but it is understood that Finland, Germany and the Netherlands wish to see firm commitments from all countries to economic reforms, fiscal consolidation before they give the nod to a boost to the EFSF.