EU bailout loan interest to be €9bn

THE EU and member states stand to make least €9 billion in profit from the interest they are charging on Ireland’s bailout loans.

It comes as the troika of the EU, IMF, and ECB today begin their latest quarterly review of the country’s performance in meeting the bailout terms.

The EU part of the bailout is made up of loans from the European Financial Stabilisation Mechanism (EFSM), European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) and bilateral loans from Britain, Sweden and Denmark.