PARIS (Reuters) - An informal European Union leaders summit on Wednesday must send a strong signal of support to the Greek people and discuss a wide range of options, including protectionism and direct ECB lending to Greece, France's new prime minister said.
The Brussels meeting is expected to focus on new French President Francois Hollande's call for measures to kick-start growth across the 27-country bloc, especially in the 17-nation euro zone, while maintaining efforts to cut budget deficits.
"All issues must be put on the table: finance, the banking system, growth, protectionism," Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault told Liberation newspaper in an interview. "We must send a strong signal to the Greek people and to all Europeans."
During his successful campaign for the May 6 presidential runoff, Hollande said the European Central Bank should actively help struggling euro zone states by lending them money via the region's bailout fund, the European Stability Mechanism (ESM).
Asked if the possibility of the ECB lending to EU states would be on the agenda of Wednesday's meeting, Ayrault said: "It will form part of the discussions. No subject is taboo."
"The idea is to open a way out of this crisis without strangling our peoples," he said.
The prime minister, the veteran leader of the Socialist grouping in parliament, said EU structural funds should also be diverted to Greece to help stimulate growth there.
"There is a climate of uncertainty which is pushing Greece towards a banking panic and political instability," he told the newspaper. "We must respond by helping the country find the way back to growth."
(Reporting By Daniel Flynn; Editing by Sophie Hares)
