EU leaders in Brussels for summit

By Andrew Gardner, Rikard Jozwiak and Jim Brunsden - 01.03.2009 / 12:50 CET

Central and eastern European leaders prepare united front ahead of summit called to discuss financial and economic crises; plane problems delay Merkel's arrival.

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ECB board member says plan to involve private sector in cutting Greece's public debt should be shelved.

Hungarian debt downgraded

Fitch becomes third big rating agency to downgrade Hungary's creditworthiness.

Democracy in distress

Political leaders seem to be structurally condemned to short-termism.

France's President Nicolas Sarkozy was one of the primary instigators of the summit. He is also at the centre of one of its most significant topics: economic nationalism.

PRE-SUMMIT MEETING José Manuel Barroso (right), the president of the European Commission, began the day with a meeting with Jean-Claude Trichet, the head of the European Central Bank. REUTERS