The eurozone has agreed a multibillion-euro bailout for Greece as part of a package to shore up the single currency after weeks of crisis, the Guardian newspaper has learned.

Senior sources in Brussels said that Berlin had bowed to the bailout agreement despite huge resistance in Germany  and that the finance ministers of the "eurozone" - the 16 member states including Greece who use the euro - are to finalize the rescue package on Monday. The single currency's rulebook will also be rewritten to enforce greater fiscal discipline among members.

The member states have agreed on "co-ordinated bilateral contributions" in the form of loans or loan guarantees to Greece if Athens finds itself unable to refinance its soaring debt and requests help from the European Union, said a senior European commission official.

Other sources said the aid could rise to €25 billion (£22.6 billion), although it is estimated in European capitals that Greece could need up to €55 billion by the end of the year.

Germany, the E.U.'s traditional paymaster, but the most reluctant to come to the rescue of a fiscal delinquent in the current crisis, has played the pivotal role in organizing the rescue package, the sources added.