British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said on Tuesday he was confident world leaders at a global financial crisis summit next week would do "whatever it takes" to create growth and jobs.
He called on fellow Europeans to play a lead role in reforming the financial sector and leading the world out of economic crisis in cooperation with the United States.
In a speech to the European Parliament, Brown said he believed the shared principles behind the U.S., British and wider European plans for cleaning up banks' balance sheets would help rebuild confidence and restore lending to the economy.
"I believe that we are seeing the biggest cut in interest rates the world has ever seen and seeing implemented the biggest fiscal stimulus the world has ever agreed," he said.
He called for a new, reformed International Monetary Fund which he said must have its resources doubled to at least $500 billion and be empowered to help countries facing a flight of capital.
"I propose Europe takes the lead to ensure that every continent makes the changes in its own banking systems that will open the path to shared prosperity once again," he said.
Brown was embarking on a diplomatic offensive to win support for his plans to boost the world economy before a financial summit of the leaders of developed and emerging nations in the G20 in London on April 2.
The summit will try to help pull the world out of its worst downturn since the 1930s.
G20 leaders are divided over whether the summit should focus on further economic stimulus, favoured by the United States, or concentrate on boosting regulation as sought by European leaders.
Brown will later fly to New York for a meeting with United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and then to Latin America for talks in Brazil and Chile.
TAX HAVENS
Brown said he believed that the world could for the first time agree on the big changes necessary for coordinated action "that will signal the beginning of the end for offshore tax havens and offshore centres".
He said his message to Eastern European members of the European Union was, "We will not walk away from you at your time of need, but will do all that we can to be at your side."
However, he faced criticism at home where a former British cabinet minister said plans for the G20 summit were too ambitious and risked producing only "high-minded declarations and vague reassurances".
Former trade secretary Stephen Byers, an ally of Brown's predecessor Tony Blair, also said the summit may fail to register with the average voter.
The EU last week pledged more than $100 billion in new loans to the IMF to bail out recession-hit countries and agreed to double to 50 billion euros ($68 billion) a crisis fund for struggling Eastern European member states.
The IMF has been stretched by making loans to countries such as Ukraine and Pakistan and has asked for bailout funds of $500 billion.
