Despite sounding more like an arcade than a currency oversight organization, European Union leaders have agreed to set up an official bailout fund for eurozone members as soon as 2013, doing “whatever is required” to defend the beleaguered currency. –JCL

Al-Jazeera English:

European Union leaders have agreed to set up a permanent bail-out fund for eurozone members by 2013, as the region’s economic woes gather pace.

Members of the 27-nation bloc agreed to do “whatever is required” to defend the shared euro currency as they met for a two-day summit in Brussels, the Belgian capital.

“The European Union is not only an economic union and a trade bloc, but also an important geopolitical partner,” Herman Van Rompuy, the EU president said.

“We are clearly moving in the right direction.”

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