Major EU powers co-tackle financial crisis -- china.org.cn

The leaders of four major European powers have called for flexibility on applying European Union economic rules as they tackle a global financial crisis.

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

The leaders attended a hastily called meeting in Paris to discuss the current financial situation, and said afterward in a joint statement that they would take "all necessary measures" to ensure the soundness and stability of the banking and financial system.

The leaders asked EU regulators to act quickly, and be flexible, when judging massive government bailouts for banks, which need to be checked against EU rules designed to ensure fair competition. And they agreed to take urgent action to address the impact of the crisis by speeding up the release of a 30-billion-euro package to help free up lending for small- and medium-sized businesses.

(CCTV October 6, 2008)