EU will go beyond trillion-dollar bailout limit: Van Rompuy

(BRUSSELS) - A near trillion-dollar bailout fund for debt-burdened euro nations will be increased if required, the European Union's appointed president said in an interview published on Thursday.

Herman Van Rompuy, who is in Berlin to meet German Chancellor Angela Merkel seven days from an EU summit dominated by disputes over how to install new cross-border economic governance, told Belgian business magazine Trends-Tendances that the 750-billion-euro EU-IMF fund of loan guarantees could be extended.

"Is it enough? Today, there is not even the hint of anyone asking to put this rescue plan into action," he told the magazine.

However, "if the plan proves insufficient, my answer is simple: in this case, we will do more."

The sums break down as 440 billion euros of guarantees from the countries which share the euro, 250 billion euros of heavily-conditioned loans from the International Monetary Fund and 60 billion euros in loans raised by the full, 27-nation European Union.

The small print was agreed on Monday and the plan is to be in place for three years, and the Washington-based lender of last resort has already said it would go beyond its anticipated input if required.

The money comes on top of an earlier 110-billion-euro eurozone-IMF rescue plan for Greece, and Van Rompuy admitted that leaders were caught off guard when market fears spread to neighbouring countries.

"We knew that Greece was going to pose a problem, but no one expected the blaze to spread like a bush-fire and threaten Europe and practically the whole world," he also said.

Van Rompuy, who chairs a "task force" set up by national leaders to draw up new rules for pan-national economic policy, said countries have to go further than just balancing their books over the coming years.

"The real stakes involve the imposition of adequate reform in the real economy," he underlined.

"That is indispensable to give coherence to the eurozone's economic and political development. That's the real mission.

"It's not enough to clean up public finances, we also have to boost growth and improve competitiveness.

"Lots of countries are looking at pension reform. We won't be able to avoid this debate in Belgium," he added.