Europe balks at U.S. global recovery plan

WASHINGTON, March 12 (UPI) -- European leaders have expressed skepticism about the U.S. push to spend money to pull the global economy out of recession.

As finance ministers from the Group of 20 industrial and developing nations prepare to tackle the global economic crisis at a meeting this weekend in London, signs are emerging that the United States and Europe differ about what may be the better approach, the Los Angeles Times reported Thursday.

U.S. President Barack Obama on Wednesday urged U.S. allies to boost public spending, in hopes the move will jump-start the slumping global economy.

Noting they've stimulated their countries' economies enough, many European leaders balked, saying the international financial mess needs tougher, globally enforced regulations on financial markets to avoid a repeat of the mistakes that led to the current troubles.

"We are not ready to increase the packages we have established for the current situation," said Jean-Claude Juncker, prime minister and finance minister of Luxembourg and chairman of a European economic commission.

"The Americans should be more modest about giving lessons, because the crisis comes from them," Patrick Devedjian, France's minister for recovery, said in a TV interview.