Europe's leaders surprised skeptics with a bold plan to pump cash into troubled banks, reduce borrowing costs for Italy and Spain and stop forcing austerity on every government that needs aid.

Now their finance ministers have a week and a half to work out a lot of the details, and investors will be paying close attention.

Financial markets liked the broad outlines of the plans that emerged Friday from a meeting of the leaders of the 27 European Union countries.

Markets roared their approval after the EU leaders declared they would:

— Centralize regulation of European banks and, if necessary, bail them out directly, instead of funneling loans through governments that already have too much debt.

— Ease borrowing costs on Italy and Spain, the euro region's third- and fourth-largest economies.

— Stop mandating painful budget cuts to every country in need of emergency financial aid.