国际英语新闻：EU leaders vow to coordinate in tackling financial crisis

PARIS, Oct. 4 (Xinhua) -- Leaders from the European Union (EU)'s four largest economies concluded an emergency summit here on Saturday, vowing to work in a coordinated way in tackling financial crisis.

    "We will work cooperatively and in a coordinated way within the European Union and with our international partners," leaders from France, Germany, Britain and Italy said in a joint statement.

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, France's President Nicolas Sarkozy and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown (L-R) pose for a family picture at a summit to discuss the international financial crisis at Elysee Palace in Paris October 4, 2008

The three-hour mini EU summit was called by France, which holds the EU rotating presidency, after several European banks fell prey to the financial crisis in the past week, prompting EU governments to infuse billions of euros to keep them afloat.

    It was also attended by European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, European Central Bank chief Jean-Claude Trichet and Eurogroup Chairman Jean-Claude Juncker.

    EU leaders said they would do their utmost to save troubled banks and restore confidence in the financial markets.

    "We jointly commit to ensure the soundness and stability of ourbanking and financial system and will take all the necessary measures to achieve this objective," they said.

    French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who hosted the summit, said he and the other leaders had agreed that governments needed to act in a coordinated manner.

    "Each government will operate with its own methods and means, but in a coordinated manner," Sarkozy said at a joint news conference with others.

    In the spirit of close coordination, the leaders made it clear that EU governments should take into consideration the potential cross-border effects of their national decisions when tackling the financial crisis, in an obvious reference to Ireland's recent decision to guarantee all the savings at Irish-owned banks.

    The unilateral move by Irish government angered other EU countries, notably Britain, which worried about a flurry of savings withdrawals from their own banks to Irish peers.

    The European Commission, the EU's executive arm, was invited at the summit to present a legislative proposal in the near future on harmonization of EU deposit guarantee schemes.

    Prime Minister Gordon Brown told the same press conference that other leaders supported his call for the early release of 32 billion euros (about 44 billion U.S. dollars) in European funds to help small businesses weather the global finance crisis.

    The money had been committed by EU member states at a meeting of finance ministers in Nice last month, but the British government wanted the European Investment Bank to make those funds available ahead of previous schedule.

    Brown said the governments would continue to assure liquidity and prevent any sound and solvent bank from failing.

    "Where action has to be taken we will continue to do whatever is necessary to preserve the stability of the financial system," Brown said. "The message to families and businesses is that, as our central banks are already doing, liquidity will be assured in order to preserve confidence and stability."

    EU leaders also made a call for restraints on executive pay, strict oversight of credit rating agencies and quick change of accounting rules to ensue European financial institutions are not disadvantaged with their international competitors.

    They said the EU needs to improve supervision structure in dealing with cross-border financial groups.

    In a legislative proposal released on Wednesday to reform the EU banking rules, the European Commission called for the establishment of colleges of supervisors to oversee cross-border institutions.

    EU leaders said the mechanism should be installed immediately.

    They called jointly for a Group of Eight (G8) industrial nations summit as soon as possible to review rules governing financial markets.

    "Go forward, we will work within the EU with our international partners to achieve an effective and comprehensive reform of the global financial system," they said.