Brussels - The head of the European Commission on Wednesday urged member states to work together to protect jobs and industry, rather than be tempted by "populist" and "protectionist" measures.

"The global financial crisis is not an excuse for protectionism: trade barriers shut out prosperity and open the gates instead to short-term economic populism," said Jose Manuel Barroso.

Barroso's warning came after the European Union executive approved guidelines on ways to mitigate the impact of the financial crisis on the European economy.

The guidelines will lay the basis for an EU-wide "comprehensive recovery plan", or stimulus package, due to be unveiled on November 26.

Brussels - The European Union's top industry official threw his weight Wednesday behind a call to give the bloc's carmakers cheap loans worth up to 40 billion euros 
(51 billion dollars) to develop eco-friendly cars through the financial crisis.

"We are in a situation where it is getting harder for big European businesses to get credit. We must make sure the higher costs they face to develop climate-friendly cars should also be financed," EU Industry Commissioner Guenter Verheugen said after talks in Brussels with European automotive industry representatives.

"It is not a question of hand-outs, it's a question of the European Investment Bank making available a low-interest credit programme," he said.

Paris/Brussels - The European Union is ready to step up its support to member states hardest hit by the financial crisis by more than doubling the amount of aid available to 25 billion euros (31.2 billion dollars), top officials in Brussels said Wednesday.

The move came hours after the bloc threw a 6.5-billion-euro lifeline to Hungary.

"We all know that some other EU member states and some neighbours of the EU are under stress in their financial and exchange-rate markets, and we are ready to act," EU Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Joaquin Almunia said.

Brussels - Europe's biggest carmakers were holding emergency talks with the European Union's industry commissioner in Brussels on Wednesday to call for more EU support during the financial crisis.

"In today's difficult operating environment ... the European automotive industry more than ever requires a stable and predictable policy framework to ensure competitiveness and employment, while sustaining safety and environmental progress," a press release from umbrella auto organization ACEA said.

At the talks, EU Industry Commissioner Guenter Verheugen was set to meet ACEA head Christian Streiff, together with the heads of major manufacturers such as Daimler, Fiat and Volvo.

Brussels - The European Union said Wednesday it was ready to provide humanitarian help to Pakistan following an earthquake in the south-west of the country that has killed at least 160 people and has left thousands more homeless.

"I was shocked to hear the news about the earthquake which struck south-western Balochistan earlier today," EU external affairs commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner said.

"The EU stands ready to assist Pakistan with humanitarian assistance if requested," the commissioner said in a statement.

According to officials in Pakistan, a strong earthquake measuring 6.4 on the Richter scale rattled the province of Balochistan during the early hours of the morning, destroying scores of homes.

Paris/Brussels - The European Union is extending a loan of 6.5 billion euros (8.25 billion dollars) to Hungary to give the country added liquidity in the face of the economic crisis, French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde said on Wednesday.

France currently holds the EU presidency, and Lagarde chairs the council of EU finance ministers.

Officials from the EU's executive, the European Commission, confirmed the announcement in a statement released in Brussels.