EU exec strongly supports substantial increase in IMF funds

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Commission strongly supports boosting the resources of the International Monetary Fund and believes an agreement on this could be reached at the meeting of G20 finance ministers in February, a Commission spokesman said.

The IMF is seeking to more than double its war chest by raising $600 billion in new resources to help countries deal with the fallout of the euro zone debt crisis, but the plan faces obstacles from the United States and other countries.

"We strongly support a substantial increase in IMF resources," Commission spokesman Amadeu Altafaj told a news briefing.

"This would send a very clear signal to the market to enhance the capacity of the IMF to fulfill its systemic responsibilities to all its members," he said.

"We would warmly welcome contributions from G20 countries," he said.

(Reporting By Jan Strupczewski)