Eu safety net comes just in time for lisbon

The EU's latest agreement on safety net measures to avoid a collapse of the currency bloc was overshadowed this weekend by the continuing economic woes of latest debt crisis victim Portugal.

The country, whose prime minister resigned last week after the failure of his budget to pass parliament, appears to be almost guaranteed to ask the EU for a multi billion euro bailout package similar to those of Ireland and Greece. This should occur within weeks, as it can no longer afford to pay the huge yield rates on its bonds.

After ratings agencies Fitch and Standard & Poor's cut Portugal's debt ratings last week, bond markets pushed up Lisbon's rate of repayment to over eight percent, which was a similar level at which Ireland relented and asked for a bailout.

Even so, German Chancellor Angela Merkel was optimistic that the new measures agreed at the weekend's Brussels summit should be enough to support any further ailing nations. "Very far-reaching and ground breaking decisions were made at this summit", she said. "We have ensured there will be durable support for the euro."