Bail-out fund beefed up

"European leaders set back bail-out fund overhaul," headlines the FT. The euro’s €440bn mechanism would be given a much greater lending power to tackle the zone’s debt crisis, the paper says. While a draft proposal seen by the paper includes allowing the fund to buy bonds on the open market, concrete plans will be not be ready until next month. Up until now Germany – which would have to foot the largest part of the bill — appeared unwilling to buy government bonds in order to shore up its debt-hit partners, the paper says. Co-ordination between the 17 eurozone countries on tax, pension and debt laws is mentioned by the proposal but the draft does not commit any members to the "pact of competitiveness" advocated my Angela Merkel, adds the FT.

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