Top finance officials of the Group of 20 (G20) nations have agreed that tax cuts and increased government spending are necessary to avoid a recession, Brazilian Finance Minister Guido Mantega said on Sunday.

However, each country will take actions according to its own situation, he told a press conference.

The G20, which consists of 19 major developed and developing countries and the European Union (EU), just wrapped up a meeting of finance ministers and central bank governors this weekend here. Brazil holds the rotating presidency of the bloc.

Mantega described as an "interesting" alternative Russia's call for the founding of a G20 treaty similar to the EU's Maastricht Treaty, which defines the fiscal targets of EU members.

However, as the United States and some EU countries have larger fiscal deficits than others, they should be given larger deficit tolerance under such a treaty, he added.

Mantega said most participants believed the bailout packages of the United States and Europe have so far failed to restore the credit lines and confidence needed to halt the crisis.

Thus, additional measures are necessary, he said.

(Xinhua News Agency November 10, 2008)