Treaty would maintain €500bn fund level

THE combined capacity of the eurozone’s permanent and temporary bailout funds will remain at €500 billion for now, but will be reviewed in March and may be raised by the permanent fund’s board of governors once it is operational, according to a draft treaty.

The draft treaty setting up the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) will be discussed by eurozone finance ministers on Monday and is likely to be approved by EU leaders at their summit on January 30.

This would allow a quick start to the ratification process in the 17 countries sharing the single currency, so that the ESM can come online in July, as sought by eurozone leaders.