Ireland and Portugal get more time

Two women with their child walk outside of an empty closed shop at a main shopping street in Nicosia, Cyprus (AP)

European Union finance ministers have agreed to grant Ireland and Portugal seven years more years to pay their bailout loans, easing the burden on their economies and paving the way for a quicker return to sustainable growth.

In their attempts to make progress to stabilise the economy of the 17 nations sharing the euro currency, the ministers, also approved a 10 billion euro (£8.5 billion) rescue loan package to stop Cyprus from sliding into bankruptcy.