A European Union official has said that a fund that would buffer European countries against Greece's debt crisis should be ready by Monday's trading session.

A EU official told Radio France Internationale on Saturday that the European Commission will "discuss and adopt" details of the fund officials hope will fend off market predators threatening the eurozone, where 16 EU members use only the euro as their legal tender.

The European Union said that the proposal, expected to raise about 70 billion euros ($89 billion), will be presented to the Council for the European Stabilization Mechanism "to preserve financial stability in Europe."

EU finance chief Jean-Claude Juncker said on Saturday, "Between now and Sunday night we will have a watertight line of defense in the eurozone."

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said that a so-called "nuclear option" of introducing emergency provisions for buying governments' debt hasn't been ruled out.

It has been reported that the European Union and the International Monetary Fund have agreed to a loan package of $143 billion to help Greece climb out of debt. Each of the 27 EU member states needs to ratify their pro-rated contributions. (With Inputs from Agencies)