Publication

It does not happen very often that a select group of European Union leaders meet "en petit comité," outside the formal EU summits. Last week's gathering in London between the British, German, French and Italian leaders and the president of the European Commission was reminiscent of a similar crisis meeting that took place after the Sept. 11 terror attacks on the US. It illustrates just how seriously these governments take the current financial market gyrations. And rightly so: Too many European banks got caught in the U.S. subprime mess.