EU leaders endorse action plan to fight financial crisis _English

Europen Union leaders pose for a group photo during a European Union leaders summit in Brussels October 15, 2008. EU nations are set on Wednesday to back calls for a root-and-branch overhaul of the world's financial structures in a bid to ensure no repeat of the worst credit crisis since the 1930s Great Depression. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)
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BRUSSELS, Oct. 16 (Xinhua) -- European Union (EU) leaders endorse a concerted action plan adopted by their eurozone members to fight the financial crisis, according to draft conclusions of an EU summit on Thursday.

The European Council, official name of the EU leaders' meeting," welcomes the concerted action plan of the euro area countries," the document said.

Leaders from the 15 EU countries that use the euro hammered out an action plan in a joint response to the unfolding financial crisis at their first ever summit in Paris Sunday.

Among those agreed measures, eurozone governments would, acting on national basis, buy into banks to boost their finances and temporarily guarantee bank refinancing to ease the credit crunch, which was modeled after the British bailout package.

Heads of state and government from the 27 European Union nations arrived here Wednesday for a two-day summit meeting, which is expected to be dominated by discussions on the current global financial crisis and economic issues.

European Commission President Jose Manuel Durao Barroso (L) and Commissioner for external affairs Benita Ferrero-Waldner attend the European Union leaders summit at the EU headquarters in Brussels, on October 15, 2008.(Xinhua Photo)
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In line with the action plan, several eurozone countries led by Germany and France launched their most united defense so far against the financial crisis on Monday, pledging more than 1 trillion euros (about 1.35 trillion U.S. dollars) to save troubled banks.

Britain also joined the move by injecting billions of pounds into the country's three major banks.

EU leaders say they welcome the measures adopted by the member states in conformity with the principles of the plan, calling on member states to ensure that their future national measures also respect those principles and to take account of the possible effect of their decisions on others.