Eurozone firewall meeting to be 'positive'

(SEOUL) - Top European Union officials Wednesday expressed confidence for a breakthrough in talks this week as the bloc debates a bigger financial firewall to avert eurozone crises.

A meeting of EU finance ministers in Copenhagen on Friday is expected to focus on whether to increase the size of the eurozone's permanent bailout fund from a planned 500 billion euros ($667 billion).

"I'm confident that we will reach a positive outcome," EU president Herman Van Rompuy told a news conference after talks with South Korea's President Lee Myung-Bak in Seoul.

The International Monetary Fund has been pushing for an increase to as much as one trillion euros before it agrees to strengthen its own resources against a fresh eurozone crisis.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel fuelled optimism prior to the meeting in Denmark by indicating that she was prepared to allow a boost in the firewall, in an apparent shift of position amid fierce international pressure.

Van Rompuy described a treaty signed earlier this month to control EU budgets as "a turning point in the crisis".

And European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso told the Seoul news conference that he was "absolutely sure" the EU would emerge from the debt crisis stronger than before.

-- Dow Jones Newswires contributed to this report --

Informal meeting of Ministers for Economic and Financial Affairs (ECOFIN)