The European Union raised its flag in the battle against the global economic crisis on Friday by pledging €75bn in new contributions to the International Monetary Fund and vowing to forge a deal with the US on stricter financial market regulation.
Concluding a two-day summit in Brussels, EU leaders also sought to strengthen market confidence in central and east European economies by doubling the size of an EU balance of payments facility fund for non-eurozone countries to €50bn ($68bn, £47bn).
