Paris/Brussels - The European Union is ready to step up its support to member states hardest hit by the financial crisis by more than doubling the amount of aid available to 25 billion euros (31.2 billion dollars), top officials in Brussels said Wednesday.

The move came hours after the bloc threw a 6.5-billion-euro lifeline to Hungary.

"We all know that some other EU member states and some neighbours of the EU are under stress in their financial and exchange-rate markets, and we are ready to act," EU Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Joaquin Almunia said.

"We have considered the need to increase the ceiling (on EU balance-of-payments aid), which at the moment is up to 12 billion euros. We intend to present to (EU member states) a proposal increasing this ceiling to 25 billion euros," he said.

Earlier on Wednesday, the commission and the French government, which currently holds the EU's rotating presidency, offered Hungary a 6.5-billion-euro loan to give the country added liquidity in the face of the financial crisis.

"Against the background of heightened financial market stress in Hungary, the (EU) is ready to participate in a coordinated financing package with the IMF to underpin balance-of-payments sustainability in Hungary," the statement said.

EU Commission chief Jose Manuel Barroso hailed the decision, saying that "this is a time for solidarity."

"We also stand ready to provide substantial medium-term financial assistance to other member states experiencing balance-of-payments pressures or serious financial stability risks," Barroso said.

But Almunia stressed that no other EU country beside Hungary had yet made a formal plea for help.

Added to a 12.5-billion-euro loan offered by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and another 1 billion euros from the World Bank, Hungary has received commitments worth 20 billion euros to help it confront a slowing economy, a growing budget deficit and the plunge of its stocks and currency.

On October 22 the Hungarian central bank was forced to jack up interest rates by 3 full points to 11.5 per cent in an emergency bid to defend the country's currency, the forint, which had slumped as a result of the global financial crisis.

The EU's pledge of aid "will be provided in the context of a strong commitment by the Hungarian authorities to implement a flanking policy programme" aimed at stabilizing the economy, the commission statement said.

Hungary's problems are not the only ones to have rung warning bells across Europe in recent days.

The head of Ukraine's central bank on Wednesday warned members of parliament that the country could default on its foreign debt if they did not approve a rescue loan from the IMF.

On the same day, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in an interview urged his countrymen not to take their savings out of banks, amidst growing fears of a possible financial crash. (dpa)