Press Release: Council agrees to raise the ceiling for lending to member states in financial difficulty

The Council today (5.5.09) reached political agreement on a draft regulation aimed at raising the ceiling for lending under the EU's support facility for non euro-area member states in financial difficulty. The text provides for an amendment to regulation 332/2002/EC, on which the EU's financial support facility is based, raising the ceiling for lending from EUR 25 billion to EUR 50 billion in the light of the economic and financial crisis.