More needs to be done on euro crisis – India

difficult decisions “swiftly”.
The sovereign debt crisis in the eurozone “has emerged as the principal source of concern for the global economy,” Prime Minister Man- mohan Singh said ahead of his departure for a two-day summit of G20 countries in Cannes, France.
Greece, which is at the heart of debt worries in Europe, plunged the region back into crisis on Tuesday with a shock call for a referendum on a rescue package reached just days before with huge difficulty.
“The twin summits of the European Union and eurozone a few days ago have helped to restore a measure of confidence in the markets, but much more needs to be done,” Singh said.
“It is imperative the difficult decisions needed to address the economic challenges in Europe and elsewhere are taken swiftly,” the Indian PM said in his strongest statement yet on the eurozone crisis.
The Group of 20 industrial and developing economies are expected to spend much of their time at the summit seeking to rescue the plan finalised last week by the European Union to cut Greece’s debt.
“It is important for the Cannes Summit to signal a strong and coordinated approach to put the global economy back on track,” Singh said.
Indian policymakers have been deeply concerned about “contagion” effects of the debt crisis spreading to other economies and Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee has warned of “dark clouds” casting a shadow on India.
But the New Delhi government, which is faced with a slowing economy and near double-digit inflation, has been cautious about contributing to any eurozone bailout fund.
It has said that it is willing to play a “supporting” role in any multilateral efforts to help the region overcome its debt crisis.
European leaders have been courting Beijing and other emerging market nations to invest in a eurozone bailout fund, known as the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF).
China, which is the only developing economy with sufficient financial resources to make a sizeable contribution, has been non-committal about pumping in money.
Brazil has also said it might assist the eurozone through the International Monetary Fund but at the same time has said “the solutions (to the crisis) are in the hands of the Europeans”.
Singh said in his statement it was vital to resolve the eurozone crisis as India and other developing economies need a “conducive global economic environment” to address the vast challenges that they face.
“India would like the eurozone to prosper, because in Europe’s prosperity lies our own prosperity,” he said. – AFP.