Europe's euro currency bloc has sharply boosted its financial rescue fund to more than $1 trillion, its latest effort to protect itself and the world economy against defaults by debt-ridden governments.

The finance ministers from the 17 nations that use the euro agreed Friday in Copenhagen to add another $500 billion over the coming year to a new account slated to take effect in July.

Europe has already spent tens of billions on bailouts — twice to financially troubled Greece, and once each to Ireland and Portugal. The bigger account is aimed at protecting the eurozone against possible defaults by Italy and Spain, whose combined debts dwarf that of the three countries the continent has already assisted.

Financial analysts, the International Monetary Fund and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development had called for creation of an even bigger rescue fund. But some northern European countries — especially Germany and Finland — have grown weary of providing ever more assistance.

Germany and France, with Europe's two strongest economies, disagreed this week on the size of the new rescue fund. But in the end, French Finance Minister Francois Baroin said they reached an accord.

“Absolutely no problem between Germany and France. We have debate, political debate, but we have a strong agreement on the firewall which is a very good answer from the eurozone and the eurogroup.”

Danish Finance Minister Margrethe Vestager said investors that buy the bonds of European governments will never be totally satisfied with the size of the rescue fund. But she said the eurozone finance chiefs had to make a decision and believe that it was the correct one.

“I don't think that you can ever make the market satisfied. What you have to do is say, 'This is what we think will do it, this is the height, the width and the length of the firewall, this is the political decision and this is the end of the discussion.'”