EU calls on G20 to help end debt crisis

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BRUSSELS — Top EU officials urged on Sunday that an upcoming G20 summit address Europe’s debt crisis, saying that measures taken at a make-or-break eurozone meeting last week were not enough alone to end the crisis.

In a letter to G20 leaders, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and European Council President Herman Van Rompuy summarised the measures decided on Thursday to stamp out a crisis that risks pushing the world economy into recession.

“We will implement these measures rigorously and in a timely manner, and we are confident that they will contribute to the swift resolution of the crisis,” the EU officials said.

“However, whilst we in Europe will play our part, this cannot alone ensure global recovery and rebalanced growth. There is a continued need for joint action by all G20 partners in a spirit of common responsibility and common purpose,” they wrote.

European leaders were under immense pressure to agree a deal before this week’s G20 summit in Cannes and will try to sell the eurozone financial bail-out plan to a sceptical United States, China and others pressing them to put their house in order.

The agreement in Brussels is set to cut Greece’s debt by 50 percent, recapitalise banks that would teeter from the loss, and offer a substantial boost to a 440 billion euro ($620 billion) bailout fund by possibly turning to emerging powers like China and Brazil.