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.

Stockholm  - A majority of Swedes favour keeping the Swedish currency, but opposition has declined to introducing the joint European currency, the euro, a report said Tuesday.

The poll commissioned by the Svenska Dagbladet newspaper showed that 47 per cent opposed the euro while 42 per cent favoured such a move, the poll commissioned by the Svenska Dagbladet newspaper said.

The survey indicated that 11 per cent were undecided.

In a referendum five years ago, 56 per cent of Swedish voters said they wanted to keep the krona while 42 per cent favoured the euro.

Polling institute Sifo interviewed some 1,000 Swedes by telephone October 20 to 23.

Manila  - The United Nations and the European Union launched Tuesday a 15-million-euro joint initiative to promote migration and help protect migrant workers amid the global financial crisis.

Amid warnings that the global crisis could force countries to restrict the entry of migrant workers, the UN-EU initiative aims to highlight the "positive impact of migration" on development.

The programme was launched on the sidelines of the Global Forum on Migration and Development in Manila, which will be addressed by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday.

Under the programme, financial grants will be provided to projects dealing with migrant communities, migrant rights, capacities of migrants and migrant remittances.

Brussels  - The European Commission on Tuesday approved Germany's 470-billion-euro (588-billion-dollar) financial rescue package after finding that it does not violate European Union treaty rules.

"The package constitutes an adequate means to remedy a serious disturbance in the German economy while avoiding undue distortions of competition," the bloc's executive arm said in a statement.

In approving the package, officials in Brussels noted that the German measures do not discriminate against foreign banks, they are limited in time and scope, and they foresee "adequate safeguards to minimize distortions of competition."

Warsaw - Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said his government would approve a strategy for entry into the eurozone after meeting with an opposition party leader on Monday.

Tusk said the government had prepared a plan to enter the eurozone that would be accepted on Tuesday and later be presented to President Lech Kaczynski.

Tusk met with Law and Justice leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski and said there was a "clear difference of opinion" on when to switch currencies, with Kaczynski advocating an unspecified later date.

Amman - A regional conference on security cooperation between Mediterranean and European countries opened in Amman Monday with the participation of 56 states.

The two-day meeting entitled "Regional Security: the Mediterranean as a Model" is sponsored by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the Jordanian foreign ministry.

The meeting is designed to boost cooperation between OSCE and states in the region particularly in the sphere of combatting terrorism.