Brussels, 01/04/2010 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday 31 March, the International Monetary Fund signed an agreement to provide the Fund with up to €1.03 billion. The agreement is part of a commitment made by the European Union in March 2009 to contribute up to €75 billion (then equal to about US$100 billion) to support the IMF's lending capacity.
The group of the richest countries and emerging countries in the G20 made a commitment in April 2009 to triple the IMF's resources so that it can provide efficient aid to member states in difficulty. There are now 17 IMF member states, 11 of them from the EU, which have signed agreements for direct loans to the institution or to enable it to buy bonds. More than twenty other countries have also promised to contribute to the IMF, including the IMF, which is expected to provide it with up to $100 billion. The IMF wants to increase its resources in a permanent way by obtaining an increase in capital from its member countries. (L.C.)