European Union leaders gather at Number 10

French President Nicolas Sarkozy, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Italy's premier Romano Prodi and EU Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso held talks in the Cabinet Room inside 10 Downing Street before speaking to journalists at the Foreign Office.

The group is expected to focus on the ongoing turbulence in financial markets known as the credit crunch. Interbank lending has slowed in recent months due to rising mortgage defaults in the US, contributing to large write-offs in major financial companies and the emergency assistance extended to British lender Northern Rock.

At last weekend's World Economic Forum, the PM put forward his ideas on how to reform important institutions such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund to make them more effective at spotting and dealing with emerging crises.

Footage of the evening's events will be available on the PM's website later.
Source: By 10 Downing Street