However, the EU said it cannot resolve all of the problems in financial markets on its own, but needs to act in tandem with other international partners to build a safer and more transparent international environment for investors.

"On financial markets' stability issues, the EU should work in close cooperation with its international partners in the relevant fora," according to the conclusion.

In particular, EU leaders said early warning systems at the EU and international level should be enhanced, including by strengthening the role of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in oversight of macro-financial stability.

"Our reaction will help improve the stability of financial markets in the future," Jansa said.

As regards SWFs, EU leaders supported the objective of agreeing at international level on a voluntary code of conduct for those funds and defining principles for recipient countries at international level.

Recent years have seen some eye-catching investments by the sovereign wealth funds, which aroused concerns of some EU member states and prompted them to call for transparency.

"The emergence of new players with a limited transparency regarding their investment strategy and objectives has raised some concerns relating to potential non-commercial practices," EU leaders said in the conclusion.

As a response, they agreed on the need for a common European approach based on five principles proposed by the European Commission, namely commitment to an open investment environment, use of national and EU instruments if necessary, support for ongoing work in international fora including International Monetary Fund (IMF), respect for EU treaty obligations and international commitments, and proportionality and transparency.

Meanwhile, EU leaders reaffirmed the 27-nation bloc would remain open to SWFs.

"The EU is committed to an open global investment environment based on the free movement of capital and the effective functioning of global capital markets," they said, "SWFs have so far played a very useful role as capital and liquidity providers with long-term investment perspective."

(Xinhua News Agency March 15, 2008)