EU leaders urge financial transparency

Presenting a united front after meeting to discuss how to stabilize international financial markets, European leaders said Tuesday there is a pressing need for more transparency and a better early warning system for the global economy.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, flanked by French President Nicolas Sarkozy, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi and European Commission President Jose Barroso, told reporters the meeting was "triggered by the subprime crisis" in the U.S. mortgage market.

Though the resulting turbulence has spread to other financial markets, including Europe's, "We are agreed that the fundamentals of the European economies remain sound," Brown said.

http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/europe/01/29/europe.meet.ap/index.html