The European Union has resisted pressure to pump more cash into its recession-hit economies.
European leaders have backed a proposal to double to €50 billion an EU crisis fund for eastern European nations outside the euro currency zone.
But they defended the stimulus packages they have already launched, despite calls led by Washington for Europe to spend more and after the Federal Reserve's dramatic decision on Wednesday to pump a further $1 trillion into the limping economy.
¿You can't think you can solve everything with taxpayers' money. Stimulus packages are already in place and taking us through this challenging time. We already have done a lot,¿ Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt said at a summit of the 27-nation bloc.
As leaders of the world's top 20 economies prepare for a meeting in London on April 2nd to forge a global economic action plan, the EU wants to present a united front there.
Many EU leaders favour tightening regulation over running up huge deficits in response to the crisis largely set off by excessive risk-taking by some of the world's top financial institutions.
Some EU governments, however, face growing pressure to do more to defuse social unrest. French President Nicolas Sarkozy attended the summit on a day of mass protests over his handling of a crisis which could push Europe's unemployment rate towards 10 percent this year.
Reuters