Expectations for the G20 summit: Urgent stimulus plans sought

European nations are banking on the Group of Twenty summit in Cannes, France, Thursday and Friday to help hold back a looming global economic slump.

The G20 Forum is a yearly conference of established and emerging economic powers.

A joint statement from European Council President Herman Van Rompuy and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso has already underscored the necessity of cooperation of all G20 countries to help restore global confidence, maintain financial stability, support sustainable growth and create more employment opportunities, according to a report from Reuters.

Both Spain and Portugal, which are confronted with economic problems, have reportedly called on the U.S. and G20 members to provide support in controlling the European debt crisis and come up with vital stimulus plans to protect the international economy.

In a preliminary meeting earlier this year in the U.S., the McClatchy-Tribune Information Services reports, the G20 finance ministers agreed on benchmarks for indentifying possible risks. These benchmarks are measured against indicators which include public debt, fiscal deficits, private savings rates and private debt, as well as, trade balances and investment flows.

The world's major economic powers have already agreed before to come up with additional tangible measures to safeguard the global economy by setting up a system to pinpoint and hold back national imbalances that endanger stability, according to this report.

Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero said, "The G20's response has two key elements. Firstly, those of us who have been working to consolidate our fiscal position cannot change course. But those countries that have the margin to incentivize economic activity have to adopt urgent stimulus plans. If not, the global economy will be affected."

Meanwhile, Portuguese Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho said the crisis involves not only Europe but the rest of the world.