London/Strasbourg, France  - British Prime Minister Gordon Brown on Tuesday played down reports of a rift between the United States and Europe over what is needed to stimulate the global economy, saying harmony would prevail at the Group of 20 summit.

Addressing the European Parliament in Strasbourg, Brown said he was confident that "the whole of Europe will agree with (US President Barack) Obama" that the stimulus package will be "sustainable and robust".

"Never in recent years have we had an American leadership so keen at all levels to co-operate with Europe on financial stability, climate change, security and development, and seldom has such co-operation been so obviously of benefit to us and to all the world," he said.

Brown was addressing European lawmakers at the start of a diplomatic offensive designed to rally support for his plan to secure a common response to the global economic downturn.

At last week's EU summit in Brussels, leaders of the 27-member bloc rejected recent US calls to extend the size of their 400-billion-euro (544-billion-dollar) stimulus package. Brown, whose country is experiencing a particularly sharp downturn, had also been listed among those asking for more government intervention ahead of the EU summit.

But Brown set aside any criticism of the EU while in Strasbourg, instead praising the bloc as being "uniquely placed" to take the lead on financial reforms.

European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, who also took part in the debate in Strasbourg, reiterated his view that the EU is already doing enough.

"Our overall fiscal effort is close to 4 per cent of gross domestic product. Now we must implement our recovery plans vigorously," Barroso said.

At next week's meeting in London, leaders of the world's 20 most important economies will also be tasked with re-writing the rules governing the international financial markets following an unprecedented credit crunch.

"It is not enough to promote self-regulation: we have to agree international standards of transparency, disclosure and - yes - of regulation," Brown said.

The premier also said the G20 should also signal "the beginning of the end for offshore tax havens."

In a response to critics who argue that the EU is more keen on tighter regulation than on spending its way out of recession, Barroso said there should be "no dichotomy between stimulating the economy and improving regulation."

From Strasbourg, Brown was expected to travel to New York for a meeting with United Nations Secretary General Ban-Ki-moon and then on to Latin America for talks in Chile and Brazil. (dpa)