EU dismisses Brown plan on fighting crisis

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown's “blueprint” for avoiding a repeat of the financial crisis was dismissed today as “European ideas wrapped in a British flag”.

Mr Brown arrived at an EU summit proclaiming Lord Turner's report on tighter UK banking controls - unveiled in London yesterday - as a potential solution for the rest of the world.

But in Brussels, officials indicated they were sticking to a recently-endorsed EU report recommending better monitoring and cross-border financial coordination in the EU.

The so-called La Rosiere report, drawn up by an eight-strong group of experts set up by the European Commission and headed by former Bank of France Governor Jacques de Larosiere, includes plans for regulation across all financial sectors and an “early warning system” against future economic meltdowns.

It stopped short of calling for a single EU-wide body with supervisory powers, but raised concerns that national financial authorities would be diluted by a pan-European response.