It is the loan facility amount the 16 Euro area members have secured for themselves for the three coming years. The European Financial Stability Fund in charge of running it will issue guaranteed bonds to grant loans against conditionality to those members facing funding difficulties in the financial markets. These amounts could be completed by an IMF loan facility worth euros 250 bn.

With this emergency fund, the Europeans hope to stop the ripple effects of sovereign debt degradation namely on the most exposed European banks.

At mid-2010, the downside risks in the Euro area and their possible adverse impact on a recovering global economy still spread strong uncertainties.