The 27-member bloc agreed to double loans available to eastern European countries to $68 billion and to contribute about $100 billion to the IMF as part of an overall funding increase so the institution can help countries worldwide battle the economic downturn.

VOA: standard.2009.03.20

Poland is the largest of a dozen mainly eastern European candidates in talks on joining the western bloc, which hopes to expand its membership from 2004 onwards.

BBC: Economic tests for new Polish regime