(BRUSSELS) - EU finance ministers gave cautious backing on Tuesday to plans for a joint 200-billion-euro economic stimulus plan without making formal commitments to the package in the face of reservations.

The ministers said in a document agreed at a meeting in Brussels that they "in principle" welcomed the European Commission's proposed stimulus package.

They also deemed the European Commission's recovery plan to be "a good basis for designing a comprehensive, consistent and coordinated European response" to the economic crisis.

With the spectre of recession looming large, the European Commission called last Wednesday for a sharp boost to public investment and social spending across Europe while giving embattled consumers a range of tax breaks

The overall package, drawn from a series of national and EU programmes, is supposed to be worth a total of about 200 billion euros (255 billion dollars) or 1.5 percent of the 27-nation European Union's gross domestic product.

While a consensus has emerged on the need to coordinate economic stimulus across Europe, countries such as Germany refuse to contribute more than what they consider is necessary to get their national economies moving and no more.

The European Commission aims to secure backing for the package from EU heads of state and government when they meet in Brussels at a December 11-12 summit.

Meeting of the Economic and Financial Affairs Council (Ecofin) on 2 December

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