EU executive fends off market regulation calls

By Huw Jones

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Commission welcomed on Monday U.S. plans for a $700 billion bailout to ringfence fallout from the credit crisis but anticipated no EU emergency measures.

"The Commission welcomes the U.S. action to stabilise the financial system," a spokesman for the European Union executive told a regular news briefing.

"We cannot comment in detail at this point in time as the details are still being worked out by the U.S. administration and Congress. The Commission continues to follow the situation closely," the spokesman added.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson has invited other countries to join the bail-out but the Commission said it was up to individual governments in the EU to respond.

The Commission has sole right to initiate EU-wide financial regulation and is coming under growing pressure to act.

German Finance Minister Peer Steinbrueck and his British counterpart Alistair Darling have called for more regulation to stop a repeat of the credit crunch which has also claimed bank victims in Britain and Germany.

EU Internal Market Commissioner Charlie McCreevy will come forward with two planned initiatives, one on beefing up bank capital rules, the other on mandatory oversight of credit rating agencies.

There were no plans for emergency measures, McCreevy's spokesman Oliver Drewes said.