Sarkozy and PM in economy talks

French President Nicolas Sarkozy is meeting Gordon Brown at Downing Street for talks on what more can be to stimulate the global economy.

European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso is joining them, ahead of an EU summit in Brussels this week.

They will later meet business leaders from across Europe afterwards to discuss ways to ease problems.

And they are expected to discuss ways that moving to a low-carbon economy could generate more jobs.

Among those taking part in the Downing Street meeting are representatives of Vodafone, Tesco, British Telecom, the National Grid, Corus, Prudential and Diageo.

French package

In November the European Commission unveiled an economic recovery plan worth 200bn euros (£170bn) – including at least 5bn euros to help the car industry develop green technologies.

Last week France became the latest of the biggest European economies to unveil a fiscal stimulus package.

It plans to spend 26bn euro (£23bn) plan to boost its economy – including a loan for car manufacturers and 5bn euro public sector investments.

Britain has already unveiled a £20bn (23.6bn euros) plan – which includes a cut in VAT, but the prime minister’s spokesman has indicated more needed to be done across Europe.

It is expected that the meeting with business leaders will discuss ways to ease pressure on firms – for example by reducing red tape to help keep costs down.

Tags: Europe