European Union (EU) leaders agreed on Thursday to allocate 5 billion euros (US$6.9 billion) from the 27-nation bloc's unspent budget to fund energy and broadband infrastructure projects as part of a stimulus package.

"We have agreement in principle on the allocation of this infrastructure recovery plan," Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek, whose country holds the rotating EU presidency, told reporters at the end of the first day of a EU summit.

The money will be spent in 2009 and 2010.

European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said the leaders have agreed on a concrete list of projects that need to be funded with this sum of money.

The 5-billion-euro funding proved to be the most contentious element of an overall 200-billion-euro stimulus package. It was left to the leaders for a decision after EU foreign ministers failed to reach agreement earlier this week. The issue became sensitive as the money would have come from unused funds from the so-called Common Agricultural Policy.

The EU leaders have also agreed to help Central and Eastern European member states with their balance of payment.

Barroso said the leaders may agree to double the current ceiling of support to 50 billion euros.

"We currently have enough room to meet likely future needs. There is 15.4 billion euros available under a ceiling of 25 billion euros of support. If we feel we want to give a signal of goodwill support, we could agree to double the ceiling to 50 billion euros," said Barroso.

The EU leaders, at their emergency summit on March 1, rejected proposals for a bailout plan for Central and Eastern European member states which are hard hit by the crisis.

The leaders, in their debate on a common position for the upcoming Group of 20 (G20) summit in London, also agreed to increase the reserves of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), with a possibility of doubling them.

"We all agreed that there is a need to have considerable increases in those resources," said Czech Finance Minister Miroslav Kalousek.

On the G20 summit, Topolanek said the EU leaders have endorsed British Prime Minister Gordon Brown's notion of three pillars: fiscal stimulus, financial regulation and revival of global trade.

The EU leaders urged progress in the Doha round global trade negotiations under the auspices of the World Trade Organization to remove protectionism.

(Xinhua News Agency March 20, 2009)