Paris - The European Union is extending a loan of 6.5 billion euros (8.25 billion dollars) to Hungary to give the country added liquidity in the face of the economic crisis, French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde said on Wednesday.

France currently holds the EU presidency, and Lagarde chairs the council of EU finance ministers.

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, the forint. (dpa)