US welcomes European urgency

Finance leaders from G7 countries and others have held a conference call on Europe's ongoing debt difficulties, while US President Obama and British Prime Minister Cameron also spoke one-on-one by phone. Tuesday evening's confidential conference call brought together finance ministers and central bank presidents from the world's seven leading industrialized countries. Various policy options currently being mulled in Europe, from unified economic policy and loan guarantees through further bank recapitalization and austerity, were said to be discussed during the emergency call. The White House said that it had been partially reassured by the talks, adding that shoring up European banks topped of Washington's list of priorities. "European leaders seem to be moving with a heightened sense of urgency and we welcome that and are hoping to see accelerated European action over the next several weeks," White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters. "A movement to strengthen the European banking system would be of particular importance during this time period." The European Commission was due on Wednesday to unveil new plans on the so-called "debt crisis," with bolstering struggling banks likely to feature strongly in any proposal. The G7 finance leaders were talking in the build-up to a leaders' summit for the broader G20 on June 18 and 19 in Los Cabos, Mexico. The G7 comprises the US, Japan, Germany, France, Canada, Britain and Italy, while the G20 also incorporates major emerging markets including Russia, China, Brazil and India. US President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron also spoke to each other on the phone on Tuesday evening, with the eurozone and the upcoming G20 summit supposedly the focus of their discussion.