Sarkozy: EU budget rules to be adapted for crisis

The Associated Press ,  Paris   |  Sun, 10/05/2008 4:26 AM  |  World

The leaders of Europe's four major powers called Saturday for flexibility on applying EU economy rules as they tackle a global financial crisis, and took a "solemn vow" to support their banks, French President Nicolas Sarkozy said.

The leaders said in a joint statement they would take "all necessary measures" to ensure the soundness and stability of the banking and financial system.

Only France, Germany, Italy and Britain were represented at the summit, along with the European Central Bank and the European Commission.

They asked EU regulators to act quickly and be flexible when judging massive government bailouts for banks that need to be checked against EU rules in case they give one bank an unfair advantage.

Banking executives should be held responsible for the failure of their businesses and should steer clear of massive reward schemes, they agreed.

They said it was important for governments to "take urgent action to address the impact of the financial crisis on our economies," agreeing to frontload a euro30 billion (US$41.5 billion) package to help free up lending for small and medium businesses.

The EU nations also demanded stronger global financial governmance and better coordination, calling for global leaders to meet "as soon as possible" to start overhauling the banking sector.
 

Copyright © 2008 The Jakarta Post - PT Bina Media Tenggara. All Rights Reserved.