EU plans loan deal to spur reform

The EU is considering whether it could encourage countries to make long-term economic changes by offering them loans at below-market rates, an EU official has said.

The idea is to spur reform in areas like labour policy, vocational training or the judicial system, the official said.

The loans could be made available to smaller countries that don’t have reliable market access, while bigger nations might benefit from looser budget targets in exchange for reform commitments, the official said.