Brussels, 16/03/2013 (Agence Europe) - Following on from the agreement on an aid plan for Cyprus (see separate article), eurozone finance ministers meeting in Brussels on Friday night to Saturday morning, 14 to 15 March 2013, gave the formal go-ahead to an extension of the repayment deadlines for the financial aid (loans) from the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) for Ireland and Portugal, as requested by the two countries at the start of the year.
Eurogroup said the move was justified by its determination to support the two countries and help them borrow money unaided from the financial markets without any aid from foreign lenders. Ireland is already able to borrow successfully from the money markets unaided, having successfully issued ten-year bonds on 13 March in its return to the long-term markets.
The technical details of the extended loan maturity will now be set by the troika of lenders (European Commission, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund) and the EFSF. Decisions on loans from the European Financial Stability Mechanism (EFSM), a fund managed by the European Commission on behalf of the EU, will be made by the ECOFIN Council on behalf of the EU27. (EL/transl.fl)