In the lending business, cash flow is more important than cash. Nothing improves cash flow faster than a low interest rate.
A blog by Michael Pettis discusses possible solutions to the Euro crisis, and within the chain of replies, someone suggests that China should lend some of the debtor nations around 100 billion USD.
http://mpettis.com/2010/05/don%E2%80...sis-for-china/
The rationale for this is pretty obvious. China exports a number of products to the European nations. Some examples are solar and wind energy generating devices. Since these are productive purchases, their financing should be viewed differently than frivolous purchases such as beef and pork.
On the home front, it is apparent that the nations in Europe with a surplus current account balance have the wherewithal to fund those with a negative balance. Thus, Germany, with $109.7 MM and Norway, with $58.6 MM could easily float a $100 MM low interest loan to their poorer neighbors. (Figures are based on 2009 estimates by the CIA). And this gets to the ultimate solution, lowering interest rates on the existing debt, to the same discount rate that the Federal Reserve has managed for US banks. I facetiously refer to this as a subprime loan to sovereign nations. Whether this is done by the IMF or some other agency is up to the Europeans (and US) to figure out.