France has been presiding over Europe's destinies since July 1 and will continue to do so through to the end of the year. It is our country's privilege and responsibility to represent the 495 million men and women who live on this continent and who expect courage and innovation from its leaders.

Today and tomorrow, I will be chairing the informal Ecofin Council meeting in Nice. At our invitation, the economic and finance ministers of the 27 European Union countries, central bank governors, the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the European Investment Bank will meet to take stock of the economic and financial situation in Europe.

For the first time ever, a woman will be chairing the debates. This gives me great pride and represents a personal challenge that I will take up with determination. It shows how far we have come but also how far we still have to go for women to play their full part in building Europe's future.

This meeting comes at a difficult economic juncture. Over the last year, Europe has been hit by three external shocks: The financial crisis, which started in the United States, has thrown our economies' financing mechanisms into turmoil; the increase in the price of oil has pushed up business costs and put a squeeze on our citizens' purchasing power; and the euro's sharp appreciation has undermined the conditions for European business competitiveness. These shocks, combined with the slowdown in global demand, have put a strong brake on European growth. For the first time since the eurozone was created, it posted a 0.2 per cent drop in growth in the second quarter of this year while, as a whole, growth across the EU fell 0.1 per cent.

It is my ambition that we, the finance ministers of the European Union, should be able to find a joint response to these shocks. The 27 countries of the European Union all have their own culture and characteristics and we need to take them into account. Yet, in a show of Europe's added value, we should find joint responses to a situation that is weighing heavy on all of our economies. Given the present circumstances, I believe it is vital for Europe to take strong action. We must continue with the structural reform work we started. It is these structural reforms that have given Europe the 14.3 million jobs it has created in the last five years.

We need to tackle the roots of the problem and restore trust in the financial system. The subprime crisis has shown what happens when a largely deregulated world of finance loses its sense of responsibility.

Working along the same lines as the roadmap on financial stability adopted by the ministers in October 2007, we should increase the transparency of financial activities, step up supervision of the credit rating agencies, which play an important role in the stability of the system, by registering them at European level and make sure that the financial players improve their risk management.

What I would like is for Europe to develop better control tools to prevent future crises and improve our resilience to financial instability. This calls for a more closely co-ordinated supervision of the financial sector and I will do everything in my power for this to come about as soon as possible. Trust cannot be restored unless we have a stable, transparent system common to all and management rules binding on the financial players.

Particular attention should be paid to our businesses' financing conditions. These businesses represent work for millions of families and half the growth and jobs in Europe, and they also play a key role in our continent's expansion and influence. It is vital for them to have the means to grow unhindered and the access to financing to underpin their growth. I will propose that the European Investment Bank's resources be put to greater use to this end.

Our presidency aims to reach a consensus to place economic and financial Europe at the forefront of the drive for growth and jobs. Our cultures and sensibilities are many and varied but I strongly believe we need to act together and implement the structural reforms if we hope to restore growth. This is the path I will propose to my European colleagues.

Our fellow citizens expect concrete answers from their leaders to help them overcome their difficulties. We have no right to disappoint them.

Ms Lagarde is the Minister for Economy, Industry and Employment of France.