(PARIS) - Britain's Prime Minister Gordon Brown arrived at the Elysee Palace in Paris on Sunday for talks with French President Nicolas Sarkozy ahead of a summit of the 15 eurozone members.

The governor of the European Central Bank Jean-Claude Trichet, the president of the European Commission Jose Manuel Barroso and the chairman of the eurogroup Jean-Claude Juncker were also present.

Britain is not a member of the single-currency bloc, but French officials said he would address his 15 counterparts briefly at the start of their summit to introduce his plan to protect British banks before leaving.

European governments appear to have decided to follow Britain's lead in providing funds to not only prop up individual banks, but to free up the vital short-term loans between institutions that keep capital markets moving.

Brown's government has set aside 250 billion pounds (315 billion euros) to guarantee this trade, in addition to 200 billion pounds in short-term loans and 50 billion to buy stakes in major banks.

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