(PARIS) - The global finance crisis has weakened the United States politically and economically, giving Europe a chance to assert itself, a French minister said Friday.

European Affairs Minister Jean-Pierre Jouyet told Les Echo financial that Europe now has a platform to argue for state regulation of the economy instead of the free market approach widely blamed for the meltdown.

"They are no longer in a position of strength, on the economic level as well as the geostrategic level," Jouyet said.

The minister said it was in Washington's "interest to return to multilateralism" to repair damage from the financial crisis.

"Europe today has a window of opportunity to make the case for standards and values in terms of regulation. The financial industry must be of service to the financing of the real economy," he said.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy was to host a summit in Paris on Saturday with his counterparts from Britain, Italy and Germany to try to agree on a common response to the storm that has crippled the financial system.

But there were no plans to put forward a European bailout similar to the 700 billion-dollar US rescue package for financial institutions.

"France must be pro-active in the current crisis. It must show initiative, even if not all of the ideas are followed up, rather than be accused of doing nothing," he said.

"While the modalities may vary from state to state, we must be in agreement on intervening where and when it is necessary to prevent any systemic risk. All European banks are related," he added.

As current European Union president, France wants its partners to focus on bank liquidity, credit lines, the system of asset-backed securities, Jouyet said.

Governments from the 27-nation EU must think about accounting regulations including the mark-to-market procedure, by which banks declare assets based on current market value.

The procedure has been criticised for leaving banks exposed to stock market fluctuations.

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