U.K. Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne said euro countries must act “swiftly” to deliver on their promises and ensure financial stability. “A global crisis cannot be solved by countries acting alone,” Osborne wrote in an article for today’s Daily Telegraph newspaper. “Euro-zone countries must now act swiftly to deliver on what they have promised. Euro-area institutions need to do whatever is necessary to ensure financial stability in the euro area, as I am sure they will.” G-7 finance officials held an emergency conference call before Asian markets opened today following crisis discussions by euro-region central bank governors intended to stop Spain and Italy from becoming the next victims of the sovereign-debt crisis and limit fallout from the first U.S. debt-rating downgrade in history. Osborne said the U.K. government’s austerity plan showed that it’s possible to “earn credibility and get ahead of the markets through decisive action.” “Individual countries need to demonstrate beyond doubt that they have credible plans to deal with excessive deficits, improve competitiveness and strengthen banking systems,” he wrote. -- Editor: James Hertling To contact the reporter on this story: Svenja O’Donnell in London at sodonnell@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Craig Stirling at cstirling1@bloomberg.net

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