EU powers to demand crackdown on 'speculators': Greece

(ATHENS) - France, Germany and the Eurogroup of eurozone finance ministers will call on the European Commission to detail plans to clamp down on speculators, Greece's foreign minister said on Wednesday.

"Germany, France, Greece and (Eurogroup chief Jean-Claude) Juncker will send a joint letter to the president of the European Commission Jose Manuel Barroso," Foreign Minister Dimitris Droutsas said on Greek television Net.

Droutsas said the letter would call for "very precise measures against speculators" and was "a first step" in plans to cut down speculation on financial markets, particularly in highly opaque derivatives trading.

Derivatives -- complex and high-risk financial instruments -- have come under close scrutiny since the outbreak of the global financial crisis.

They have been thrust further into the spotlight by reports of coordinated market action by hedge funds to bring down the value of the euro.

Following talks in Washington, Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou on Tuesday said President Barack Obama had offered a "positive" verdict on European plans to thwart speculators he blamed for Greece's financial crisis.