By Tabassum Zakaria and Yann Le Guernigou
CAMP DAVID, Maryland (Reuters) - U.S. and European leaders on Saturday proposed a series of world summits on the global financial crisis, with President George W. Bush to host the first gathering after the November presidential election.
Bush, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso at a meeting at the Camp David presidential retreat agreed to "reach out" to other world leaders next week about a series of summits on challenges facing the global economy, a joint statement said.
"I look forward to hosting this meeting in the near future," he said, adding that he had discussed plans for the summit with Prime Minister Taro Aso of Japan, the current chair of the Group of Eight industrialized nations.
A credit crisis that swept around the globe has pummeled markets, leaving the United States and its European allies searching for ways to cushion the shock to financial systems.
"It is essential that we work together because we are in this crisis together," Bush said after greeting Sarkozy and Barroso who arrived by helicopter for the three-hour meeting.
Bush stressed that the summit, called in the wake of the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, should "preserve the foundations of democratic capitalism -- a commitment to free markets, free enterprise and free trade."
Sarkozy has called for an overhaul of the current international financial architecture established just after World War II at the 1944 Bretton Woods conference, and said on Saturday the summit could possibly be held before the end of November in New York.
Bush has not publicly commented on Sarkozy's overhaul proposal, and the White House has said the immediate focus is on addressing the crisis at hand.
MODERNIZE FINANCIAL SYSTEMS
The U.S. and European leaders decided that it would be "too ambitious" to handle all the issues in one summit, White House spokesman Tony Fratto said.
The first summit hosted by the United States, likely in November, would focus on reviewing progress in addressing the current crisis and seek agreement on principles of reform to avoid a repetition of the financial turmoil. Later summits would aim to implement agreement on specific steps.
Fratto said he did not know whether the newly elected U.S. president, either Democrat Barack Obama or Republican John McCain, would be invited to attend the first summit.
"Of course we would be interested in the views and the input of whoever the president-elect is, and we would welcome that. But I can't speak to participation," he said.
Both developed and developing countries would be represented at the summit, "and together we will work to strengthen and modernize our nations' financial systems so we can help ensure that this crisis doesn't happen again," Bush said.
Sarkozy, whose country now holds the rotating presidency of the European Union, said it would be a "great opportunity" to reassess how the world runs its financial affairs.
"Those who have led us to where we are today should not be allowed to do so once again," he said.
"This sort of capitalism is a betrayal of the sort of capitalism we believe in. And that is the reason why ... we have come to make Europe's voice heard."
During their Camp David meeting, the three leaders discussed continued coordination of steps to solve the crisis.
"This is a trying time for all our nations. I am confident that we'll overcome the challenges we face," Bush said. "With determination and focused action we will weather this crisis, return our economies to the path of prosperity and long-term growth."
(Editing by Sandra Maler)
