LONDON — A dozen European Union leaders, including British Prime Minister David Cameron and Italian Premier Mario Monti, called Monday for an open-markets strategy to stimulate growth and jolt the region out of its economic doldrums.
The 12 leaders sent an open letter to EU leaders Herman van Rompuy and Jose Manuel Barroso as eurozone finance ministers met Monday to discuss a $170 billion bailout for Greece in exchange for harsh austerity measures.
Their intervention came ahead of a summit of European leaders in Brussels on March 1 and amid growing concern in Europe that austerity aimed at cutting ballooning deficits might also be choking growth.
The letter urges European nations to deregulate their service, research and energy sectors, forge trade ties with growing markets, including China, Russia and South America — and even contemplate a free-trade agreement with the United States.
“We must act with urgency, nationally and at the European level, to remove the restrictions that hinder access and competition,” the leaders said, adding that “above all, we must reject the temptation to seek self-defeating protectionism in our trade relations.”
The letter also suggested that faltering banks could be allowed to fail.
Related: Greek bailout hopes shore up markets
Overseas markets rise •LONDON —Markets rose Monday on hopes that Greece would finally secure a massive but long-delayed international bailout, allowing the debt-crippled country to avoid defaulting on its debts next month.
A surprise easing in monetary policy in China over the weekend added to the buoyant mood in markets.
Many stock indexes are trading at multi-month highs.
In Europe, Britain’s FTSE 100 index closed 0.7 percent higher at 5,945.25, while Germany’s DAX rose 1.5 percent to 6,948.25. The CAC-40 in France rose 1.0 percent to 3,472.54.
The euro was 0.4 percent higher at $1.3257.
Earlier in Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 index added 1.1 percent to close at 9,485.09, its highest closing level of the year. South Korea’s Kospi rose slightly to 2,024.90. Mainland China’s benchmark Shanghai Composite Index climbed 0.3 percent to 2,363.60 after gaining more than 1 percent earlier in the day, while the Shenzhen Composite Index gained 0.3 percent to 923.32.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dipped 0.3 percent to 21,424.79. The Associated Press
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