The chancellor has warned that slow growth in the eurozone is threatening fragile global economic recovery.Speaking ahead of talks with European finance ministers on Friday, Gordon Brown told the Financial Times that Europe must tackle its low growth problem and move away from its inward-looking mindset.

He urged those in positions of power in Europe to adopt a “sense of urgency” in tackling economic reform as weak growth fuels global economic imbalances.”It is the weakness of EU growth that lies at the root of the imbalances,” he said. “The euro zone has grown by three per cent or more in just one of the last 10 years, while the US has averaged more than three per cent.”"This EU growth problem makes a new commitment to urgent and fundamental reform essential.”