The support shown by the European Council and European Central Bank for Greece is good news for Bulgaria, because it ensures the capitalisation of Greek banks, and 30 per cent of banks in Bulgaria are Greek-owned, Prime Minister Boiko Borissov said in Sofia on March 26 2010.
 
Speaking after attending a meeting of the European Council of EU heads of state and government that worked out a deal to assist economies in trouble such as that being experienced by Greece, Borissov said that he felt relieved that the deal had been agreed on.
 
Borissov said that a decision to change the requirements for entry into the euro zone could be an obstacle for Bulgaria’s hopes for rapid accession to the EU’s common currency.
 
Speaking to Bulgarian National Television, Borissov said that Europe was not yet emerging from the economic and financial crisis.
 
After EU leaders reached the deal, the euro traded higher on March 26 2010, the Voice of America said.
 
The deal sets up last-ditch rescue mechanism for EU economies in difficulty. It combines bilateral loans from the 16 countries using the euro currency with cash from the International Monetary Fund.
 
It would only be triggered if Greece or troubled euro zone members could not borrow money at reasonable market rates. Any loan would have to be approved by all euro zone members.
 
At a news conference in Brussels, French president Nicolas Sarkozy - who brokered the deal with Germany - saluted the agreement as a success.
 
Sarkozy said the bailout deal was clearly a preventative one - the objective was not to use it.
 
But he said it would send a positive signal to financial markets so Greece could borrow at reasonable interest rates while being able to carry out its tough austerity measures.
 
Sarkozy said that two-thirds of any loan would come from euro zone nations, with the IMF chipping in the last third.
 
Pressure had been high for EU leaders to come up with a deal during their two-day summit in Brussels.
 
Greece has been hit by strikes and protests as it tries to cut spending and trim its skyrocketing public debt and deficit. If Athens had to pay very high rates to borrow money, it would make it even more difficult to get its economic house in order.
 
But Germany, for one, had balked at bailing out Greece. Other players have been skeptical about bringing in the IMF, fearing it would undermine the euro zone's ability to deal with its own problems.
 
But on March 26, German chancellor Angela Merkel hailed the deal as a signal of the EU's ability to work together.
 
European Central Bank chief Jean-Claude Trichet denied that including the IMF undermined the euro zone's autonomy.
 
"I consider it a workable solution that preserves for us what is decisive - the responsibility of the governments of the euro areas," Trichet said. "They have immense responsibilities according to the treaty, according to the stability and growth pact. We consider these responsibilities are preserved with this solution."
 
The EU gave European Council President Herman Van Rompuy the task of drawing up a plan by the end of the year to toughen economic oversight of member states and to establish prevention mechanisms to avoid future crises.