PARIS (MNI) – French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde welcomed
Monday the accord on financial aid for Ireland with its Eurozone
partners, the European Commission and the International Monetary Fund.

Ireland’s four-year fiscal consolidation plan and the bailout
program “will demonstrate the determination of Irish authorities to
rebalance the country’s economy and public finances and will testify to
the conviction of the international community that Ireland has robust
economic fundamentals that will allow it to return to balanced and
lasting growth,” the minister said in a press release.

Lagarde noted that France’s participation in the program would have
no budget impact, since it takes the form of state guarantees for
emissions of the European Financial Stability Facility.

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