|
 |
 |
|
Obama discusses Europe's debt struggles with British, French leaders
President Obama spoke with British Prime Minister David Cameron and French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Monday about Europe's continuing debt struggles.
In separate phone conversations, the leaders agreed with Obama that "decisive action was needed in order to finally resolve the crisis and assure economic recovery," according to a readout of the calls released by the White House.
The conversations came hours after Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel announced they had reached a comprehensive agreement to stabilize Europe's banking sector while strengthening its rescue fund for ailing eurozone governments by the end of the month.
The Obama administration has consistently maintained that Europe's leaders need to take strong, swift action to contain the European debt crisis, as the U.S. government did during the financial crisis with its large bailout effort.
Some European leaders have rankled at that pressure in the past, however: Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner traveled to Europe in September to press for bolder steps, only to have Austrian and Belgian finance officials tell the media that the U.S. had its own debt problems it should be focusing on.
The Treasury maintained Geithner merely contributed ideas, and while also encouraging decisive, united action from Europe, he did not advocate for any particular strategy.
The president's calls with Cameron and Sarkozy came in advance of the Oct. 23 European Union Summit and the G-20 Summit to be held in the beginning of November.
The president also discussed Middle East peace issues with Sarkozy, and wished Cameron a happy 45th birthday, according to the White House.
Most Viewed RSS Feed »
