Washington - The International Monetary Fund on Wednesday approved a new programme to provide emergency loans to countries facing serious cash shortages in the wake of an ongoing financial crisis.

Countries with a "track record" of solid economic policies can now apply for three-month loans without the usual conditions attached, IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn said. Typical IMF loans come with certain policy expectations.

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.

Washington - Hungary has received a commitment from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to provide as much as 12.5 billion euros (15.7 billion dollars) in loans to the Eastern European country as it seeks to weather the global financial crisis.

The IMF and Hungary made the agreement Tuesday after Hungarian stocks and the forint have plunged, its economy slows and the government runs a growing budget deficit.

Kiev/Budapest/Washington - Ukrainians expressed optimism, but still faced a shaky economy after the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said it will provide financial support to the hard-pressed country.

The IMF on Sunday simultaneously announced a 16.5-billion-dollar credit for Ukraine. Additionally, it said it plans to give Hungary, which is also facing economic problems, a credit of an as-yet- undetermined size.

Budapest- Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany on Friday canceled a trip to two Gulf kingdoms to focus on Hungary's financial crisis and economic slowdown.

Gyurcsany and a Hungarian business delegation had planned to travel to Oman and Qatar for two days starting Tuesday. No new dates were set, the prime minister's office said.