A number of European leaders are due to discuss the global economic crisis at an emergency summit in Paris later.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy is hosting a mini-summit in Paris at which he hopes a common European approach to the world financial crisis will emerge.
UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown and the leaders of France, Germany and Italy are all due to attend.
Mr Sarkozy will be joined by the leaders of Britain, Germany, and Italy.
They are expected to meet the president of the European Commission and European Central Bank chief.
He is expected to propose better co-ordination between EU governments ahead of next week's G8 meeting in the US.
The meeting was set up to try to forge a common approach but there have already been considerable disagreements about any sort of EU bail-out package.
France wants countries to agree to intervene where necessary to protect European banks, but has denied reports of plans for a US-style rescue plan.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy has said he hopes the discussions will lead to a world summit later this year.
French Prime Minister Francois Fillon - describing the world as being "on the edge of the abyss" - said France would propose measures to unfreeze credit and co-ordinate economic strategies.
Co-ordinated response
The BBC's Alasdair Sandford, in Paris, says one source is quoted as saying there may be a call for greater co-ordination of deposit guarantee schemes.
But there are growing divisions in Europe about where the limits are when it comes to regulating the money markets and bailing out failing banks and financial houses.
But he adds that after the recent divisions, it is far from clear what will emerge.
The scheduled four-hour meeting on Saturday will welcome Washington's approval of a $700bn (£397bn) rescue package planned to restore confidence in Wall Street.
European Central Bank chief Jean-Claude Trichet and the chairman of the eurozone group of finance ministers, Jean-Claude Juncker, will also attend the four-hour meeting.
European leaders are keen to agree a co-ordinated response ahead of next week's meeting of the G8 finance ministers and central bank governors in Washington.
Germany and UK sceptical
But plans for a 300bn euros (£237bn, $417bn) EU-wide rescue similar to the US Congress plan have been denied by Mr Sarkozy's office.
Calls for European action follow the bail-out of both Bradford and Bingley, which cost the UK government around £14bn, and Fortis Bank, which cost the governments of Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands around £9bn.
Only the Dutch appear to support getting the European Union's 27 countries to contribute to a £250bn emergency fund.
Such a fund would be used only when one of the member states' key banks or financial institutions faced serious trouble.
Scepticism
The four leaders, however, are expected to look at how they can encourage confidence by strengthening co-operation within Europe and ensuring the financial markets function properly in the future.
The BBC's Alistair Sandford said: "France wants countries to agree to intervene where necessary to protect European banks.
"But after the recent divisions, it is far from clear what will emerge."
Germany has made its opposition to any co-ordinated European bail-out plan known ahead of the meeting.
Germany has made its opposition to any co-ordinated European bail-out plan known ahead of the meeting.
Gordon Brown is also sceptical of the need for any Europe-wide plan.
UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown is also sceptical of the need for any Europe-wide plan.
BBC Europe correspondent Mark Mardell said Downing Street prefered the case-by-case, nation-by-nation solutions that have been happening so far.
The president of the European Parliament has criticised the summit, warning that the leaders of Europe's four largest economies have no power to decide for the entire European Union.
The president of the European Parliament, Hans-Gert Pöttering, has criticised the summit, warning that it has no power to make decisions for the entire EU.
Calls for European action follow the bail-out of both Bradford and Bingley in the UK and Fortis Bank by the governments of Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands.
