Restoring the normal functioning of bank lending and assistance to companies and consumers are the main themes of the meeting held in Brussels, the finance ministers of EU member states, reported Bloomberg. "Everything indicates that we are approaching the peak of the crisis and must act consistently and decisively, told reporters the Austrian Finance Minister Josef Proll before the meeting. - We agree that it is necessary to maintain the stability of banks. We have to open a channel of credit." The eurozone is experiencing the most severe recession since the Second World War, and the lack of credit leads to a sharp decrease in sales of housing, automobiles and industrial equipment. European banks have written off on problem loans about 218 billion euros since the emergence of signs of crisis in August 2007 and is now afraid to issue new loans. Dutch Finance Minister Wouter Bos believes that is too early to assess the impact of incentive programs on the economy. "Our priority - ensure the efficiency of the financial system," - he added. Several European countries experienced a sharp increase in the cost of protection against default of obligations in 2009, as investors worried that neither the state nor the corporation could not pay its debts in a recession. European governments may follow the example of Britain, which on Monday announced a new guarantee program and the purchase of bank assets of 50 billion pounds (74 billion U.S. dollars) in the next phase of crisis management measures, the total amount of which exceeds 100 billion pounds. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown expressed concern that banks restrict the issuance of credit, thereby increasing the crisis tendencies in the country.
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