European Union finance ministers have reached an agreement over stricter new banking rules in a bid to avoid future crises and relieve taxpayers from the need to bailout banks. In a statement, the Council of the European Union said the ministers unanimously agreed a general approach on two proposals - the so called "CRD 4" package, amending the EU's rules on capital requirements for banks and investment firms. The EU Presidency will negotiate the proposals with the European Parliament and will aim for adoption of the agreement by around June 2012. "The proposals set out to amend and replace the existing capital requirement directives and divide them into two new legislative instruments: a 'regulation' establishing prudential requirements that institutions need to respect and a 'directive' governing access to deposit-taking activities," the Council said in a statement. The new regulations are aimed at transposing the Basel 3 agreement, approved by the G-20 in November 2010, into EU law. The draft regulation would require banks and investment firms to hold common equity tier 1 capital of 4.5 percent of risk weighted assets, up from 2 percent applicable under current rules. The total capital requirement remains unchanged at 8 percent. The regulation also provides for the introduction of a leverage ratio from January 2018, if agreed by Council and Parliament on the basis of a report to be presented by the Commission in 2016. The EU will set capital requirements and introduce initial liquidity requirements from 2013, according to national provisions. A fully calibrated EU liquidity requirement will be introduced from 2015. The escalating tensions surrounding the Greek political impasse have put immense pressure on Europe to respond to calls for stricter banking rules in addition to the existing ones, which may help the region contain the contagion effects of a possible Greek exit from the euro. Late Tuesday, Greece agreed to pay off some bondholders who rejected a debt exchange earlier this year, in a move that is likely to irk creditors who accepted the swap agreement. In a statement, the Finance Ministry said the government would "make timely payment of the principal as well as the interest due on approximately EUR 435 million of bonds maturing on May 15, 2012." "These bonds are among the approximately EUR 6.4 billion of bonds issued or guaranteed by the Hellenic Republic, which were eligible for inclusion in Greece's recently completed bond exchange, referred to as PSI (Private Sector Involvement), but were not tendered for exchange," it said.