BRUSSELS, Nov. 17 (Xinhua) -- The European Union will send a mission on Thursday to Dublin to prepare for possible aid to the troubled banking sector of Ireland, a top EU official said Wednesday.5 \) |, A8 z1 B3 p
Olli Rehn, the European Commissioner for Economic and Moneatry Affairs, said that a joint mission from the EU and the International Monetary Fund will go to Dublin to find out the real situtation of the Irish banking sector and prepare for possible aid to it.) M! J) [) W3 e+ F
"It is essential that confidence in the Irish banking sector is restored for the sake of financial stability over Europe and for the sake of restoring confidence in real economy," Rehn said.8 b3 Q% o# J3 g# \& A4 \
British Finance Minister George Osborne said ahead of the EU finance ministers meeting that London stood ready to support Ireland.
5 e0 ]# |& O; F8 Y4 K& V "Ireland is our closest neighbor. And it's in Britain's national interest that the Irish economy is successful and we have a stable banking system," he said. |