Eurogroup head says British bank bailout impressive

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - There is no need for other European Union nations to copy Britain's impressive bank bailout as each country should choose its own way of tackling the financial market crisis, Eurogroup Chairman Jean-Claude Juncker said on Thursday.

Juncker, who is Luxembourg's prime minister, chairs the monthly meetings of euro zone finance ministers and the European Central Bank, at which key decisions are made for the economic policy of the 15 countries sharing the single currency.

"This is a serious package the British have put together, it's impressive. We welcome what the British did, but we think that each member state of the EU should have the privilege of choosing its own means and instruments," Juncker told Reuters.

"All countries have to examine carefully what is the best way for them," he said on arrival in Washington for a meeting on Friday of finance ministers and central bankers from the United States, Canada, Japan, Germany, Italy, France and Britain, known as the Group of Seven (G7).

Markets speculate the G7 ministers could come up with a coordinated response to the worst financial market crisis since the 1930s, similar to the coordinated interest rate cut on Wednesday of the world's biggest central banks.

Britain called on the G7 to guarantee all interbank lending between banks, like Britain did, to help unfreeze money markets, but Juncker would not comment on the prospects for such a decision. "Let's not anticipate too much before tomorrow's discussions," he said.

Juncker said he was "very happy with the coordinated action of central banks yesterday" and reiterated that no systemic financial institution in the 27-nation EU would be allowed to fail.