British Prime Minister Gordon Brown wants European nations to improve coordination of their economic support plans ahead of the G20 London summit, his spokesman said on Saturday, according to Reuters. Brown meets German Chancellor Angela Merkel and other European leaders in Berlin on Sunday to foster a consensual approach ahead of the G20 on April 2 when world leaders meet to discuss how to tackle the global downturn. Brown wrote to European leaders this week setting out areas where he thought they could take action before the summit. "The EU should be using its influence to build an international consensus behind the necessary action that the international community has got to take," the spokesman told Reuters. "We need to continue to provide fiscal stimulus to our national economies and ensure those are co-ordinated." The spokesman said the third area proposed by Brown for European co-operation was financial regulation, where there are differences of opinion about how far-reaching changes should be. Brown launched a prospectus for the G20 this week in which he urged more action to support economies, improve regulation, conclude stalled trade talks and reform international financial institutions to give more say to developing nations. Europe will have a strong voice at the G20 with current EU presidency holders Czech Republic joining Britain, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and the EU Commission. Some European countries have criticised Britain over the fall in sterling, which they say gives British exporters an unfair advantage at a time of shrinking global demand. There have also been concerns over a rise in protectionism in response to the downturn -- France has come under fire for helping its car industry and Britain has bailed out several of its largest banks. Leading politicians in Germany and France have said Britain's fiscal stimulus efforts -- specifically a cut in sales tax -- were not thought through properly. "We've always said that countries need to make their own decisions, but it's important that we talk about the action we take and we co-ordinate our responses," Brown's spokesman said.
