Wrong source

THERE is a €750 billion EU-sponsored fund from which Ireland Inc could borrow if we wished at little more than the interest rate at which the lending countries can borrow.

We only have to say the word. Germany can borrow at 2.5% now, so presumably we could borrow from Germany at, say, 2.75%. The amalgamated interest rate at which lending countries can borrow is around 4.75% and the EU intervention rate is a little higher at 5%.

So why are we borrowing in the open bond market at 6.5%? Makes no sense. Were Lisbon, Maastricht, etc, anything but words on a page?