The European Union (EU) is preparing to provide financial assistance to Hungary, an EU spokeswoman said Tuesday.
The EU "is preparing to grant financial assistance to Hungary," Amelia Torres, spokeswoman for EU Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Joaquin Almunia, told a regular press conference in Brussels.
"We are discussing this with our member states, who agree on the principle of granting financial assistance to Hungary," she added.
Torres, who gave no details about the amount of aid to Hungary, said the money would not come from the EU budget, but be raised on the financial markets.
The EU has borrowed money before to help member states such as Italy.
The announcement came two days after the International Monetary Fund (IMF) agreed a "substantial financing package" with Hungary. Details of the package were also unknown.
Hungary has been hit hard by the global financial crisis, with its currency, the forint, plunging against the euro and the U.S. dollar recently, while stocks and bonds are at their lowest level in many years.
Analysts attributed Hungary's vulnerability mainly to the country's large amount of public debt, the highest budget deficit in the EU and heavy reliance on external financing.
Source:Xinhua
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