KRGV.com

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) European Central Bank President Mario Draghi has unveiled a much-awaited program to buy the government bonds of countries in the 17-member eurozone to help bring down their borrowing rates.

At a press conference Thursday after the bank's policy meeting, Draghi said the program, called Outright Monetary Transactions, will have no set limit and be a "fully effective backstop."

Countries that want the ECB to buy their bonds must first officially ask for help from Europe's bailout funds and agree to "strict and effective" budget policy conditions.

The International Monetary Fund will help monitor the compliance by governments to those conditions.