London, Brussels - British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has urged fellow-European leaders to adopt key aspects of Britain's multi-billion-pound banking rescue package in a "concerted international approach" to tackle the current global financial crisis.

In a letter to French President Nicolas Sarkozy, holder of the EU's rotating presidency, of which a copy was sent to the EU Commission and member governments, Brown outlined the pillars of the British scheme agreed Wednesday.

In particular, Brown suggested that other European nations should follow Britain's example and extend guarantees for inter-bank lending which has dried up with the credit squeeze, according to the letter.

"I wanted particularly to draw your attention to the last of these steps, because it is an area where a concerted international approach could have a very powerful effect," Brown wrote in relation to the loan guarantees.

Under the British plan, the government is providing guarantees of up to 250 billion pounds (437 billion dollars) for such loans to cover "new and medium-term debt," in addition to extending by
200 billion pounds the liquidity of the Bank of England and injecting 50 billion pounds in cash into banks destabilized by the current crisis.

A concerted approach was also necessary to co-ordinate national schemes and strengthen supervision and regulation, said the letter.

The British proposals are expected to be discussed at next week's European Union summit and at a meeting of Group of Seven (G7) members in Washington on Friday, government officials in London said. (dpa)