BRUSSELS: It is from the European Union (EU) and eurozone member states, EU finance ministers on Sunday welcomed the request of Ireland’s for financial assistance, “providing assistance to Ireland is warranted to safeguard financial stability in the European Union and in the euro area”.

The financial assistance package to the Irish state is being financed from the EFSF (European financial stability facility) and the EFSM (European financial stability mechanism), according to the minister, which is going to be supplemented by bilateral loans which are to be negotiated by EU member states.

To take over consideration on a bilateral loan, Britain and Sweden indicated on Sunday that they stand ready to work for it. The statement asserted, in liaison with the European Central Bank (ECB), the support will be provided under a “strong policy program” which will be negotiated with the Irish authorities by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and European Commission.

The statement further added, “The program will address the fiscal challenges of the Irish economy in a decisive manner”. It stated, “It will build on the fiscal adjustment and structural reforms that will be put forward by the Irish authorities in their Four- Year Budgetary Strategy next week”.

The complete cost of rescuing Ireland’s banking sector may run as high as 50 billions euros (about 68 billion U.S. dollars), as this was earlier estimated by the Irish government. It will push the country’s budget deficit to 32 percent of GDP (Gross Domestic Product) in 2010, which was previously estimated around 11 percent.