Originally posted by the Voice of America. Voice of America content is produced by the Voice of America, a United States federal government-sponsored entity, and is in the public domain. EU Ministers Race to Complete Finance Plan VOA News 09 May 2010 From left, Luxembourg's Economy Minister Luc Frieden, Greek Finance Minister George Papaconstantinou, Austrian Finance Minister Josef Proell, and Portuguese Finance Minister Fernando Teixeira Dos Santos speak during an emergency meeting of EU finance mini Photo: AP From left, Luxembourg's Economy Minister Luc Frieden, Greek Finance Minister George Papaconstantinou, Austrian Finance Minister Josef Proell, and Portuguese Finance Minister Fernando Teixeira Dos Santos speak during an emergency meeting of EU finance ministers in Brussels, 09 May 2010 European Union finance ministers worked Sunday on a plan to defend the euro currency and contain the Greek fiscal crisis before Asian financial markets reopen Monday. As EU ministers gathered in Brussels to refine a plan for an emergency fund to support troubled European economies, U.S. President Barack Obama spoke by telephone to German Chancellor Angela Merkel to press for "resolute" action to build market confidence.  White House spokesman Bill Burton said the two leaders discussed the importance of EU members taking strong steps to reassure investors about euro stability. It was the second discussion between the two leaders in the past three days. Earlier Sunday, Spanish Finance Minister Elena Salgado, whose country chairs the rotating EU presidency, said the Union will do whatever necessary to shore up the euro.  Also Sunday, the board of the International Monetary Fund was meeting in Washington to approve a $40 billion bailout for the Greek government. That funding is part of a $145 billion rescue package already agreed on by the IMF and the European Union. French President Nicolas Sarkozy said Saturday that the EU should be prepared to activate the emergency rescue mechanism by Monday morning, if needed. The value of the euro plunged more than 4 percent last week. Global market worries grew last week after a major drop in U.S. and world stock markets, caused in part by fears that the Greek financial crisis will spread. Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters. .