Eurozone rescue 'the right size' - OECD

Brussles - The €750bn rescue package for the eurozone is credible and "the right size," OECD secretary general Angel Gurria said on Tuesday.

The Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development head made his comments the day after EU finance ministers signed off on the unprecedented package of loans and guarantees, including IMF input, after marathon talks on Sunday.

Speaking in Brussels after meeting with EU Commission chief Jose Manuel Barroso, Gurria said the rescue package "has credibility" and "the right size and I think is going to generate the time to look objectively," at the debt and deficit problems - in Greece, Spain Portugal and elsewhere - that made it necessary in the first place.

"Every single country has different situations," Gurria stressed.

The package includes the possibility of loans and guarantees from the 16 eurozone nations, funding from EU coffers and input from the International Monetary Fund.

Of the total, €60bn will be in a form immediately accessible to troubled eurozone economies, with up to €440bn guaranteed by the eurozone nations, as well as the possibility of voluntary help from elsewhere within and outside Europe.

The IMF's share of the pot is €250bn in loans.

"I think the markets are reacting positively," said Gurria.

"We will see in the next few days Portugal announce special additional efforts and I'm sure that tomorrow Spain will come out with a very strong package," he added.

Barroso also underlined that the EU was not just content at throwing money at the problem without tackling the causes.

"It's not just about giving money, its about asking members states or the eurozone to make additional efforts for the correction of some unbalances that still exist," he said.

In foreign exchange trade, the euro fell to $1.2696 after spiking above $1.30 on Monday. The single currency was also lower versus the British pound and yen.

  - AFP