(LUXEMBOURG) - Belgium has decided to raise the minimum level for its bank deposit guarantees to 100,000 euros (136,000 dollars) from 20,000 euros, finance Minister Didier Reynders announced.

The minister, who stressed that the protection would not be necessary because Belgium would not allow any banks to fail, gave no more details of the measure.

The Belgian guuarantee doubles the 50,000-euro figure that the European Union ministers agreed in Luxembourg as a minimum across the 27-nation bloc.

The previous EU minimum obligation was set at 20,000 euros, but all parties agreed it should be boosted to help reassure anxious savers as national governments scramble to put together bailout packages for banks sucked into the global financial maelstrom.

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