Prime Minister Julia Gillard has warned of "further stumbles" in the global economy but says Group of 20 leaders have made good progress toward restoring growth and stabilising European banks.

Ms Gillard was speaking on Tuesday ahead of her departure to Rio de Janeiro for United Nations environmental talks after two days of economic debate at a G20 summit in the Mexican resort city of Los Cabos.

"There will continue to be, no doubt, further problems and potentially further stumbles on the road to global recovery," she told reporters.

"But throughout all of that, Australia, with its strong economy, will stand tall."

Ms Gillard had gone into the talks calling for leaders to put growth and jobs first, and strengthen the banking system in the euro zone.

Leaders committed to address the European sovereign and bank debt crisis by pursuing growth and jobs alongside fiscal discipline, and to greater integration of the banking system to restore confidence.

This includes working toward a Europe-wide deposit insurance scheme, banking recapitalisation and joint supervision of the banking system.

European leaders will meet next week for more detailed discussions.

After being criticised by the federal opposition for lecturing the Europeans on their problems when Labor had yet to deliver a surplus budget, Ms Gillard said it would have been "absurd" to ignore the crisis.

She said Australia's commitment to a "growth and jobs plan", which G20 leaders agreed to in the final deal, included ongoing investment in skills, tax and transfer reform and investment in infrastructure.

An extra $US456 billion of funding has been committed to the International Monetary Fund's resources, to which Australia has pledged an extra $US7 billion, to support the global economy.

Joint efforts to strengthen financial regulation and bring down trade barriers, including an extension of the standstill on trade protection to 2014, will be subject to a new peer review process.

Ms Gillard hinted she wanted to see stronger anti-protectionist measures in future G20 summits, saying it was "very hard" for some nations to resist putting up trade barriers.

US President Barack Obama, who has been a critic of the slow pace of reform in the euro zone, told reporters European leaders had a "heightened sense of urgency".

"The best thing the United States can do is to create jobs and growth in the short term, even as we continue to put our fiscal house in order over the long term," he said.

European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso said in a statement the G20 leaders had addressed "key weaknesses in the global economy".

"At this summit, G20 leaders showed strong resolve to promote growth and jobs and the EU made an important contribution, setting out its sustained, crisis comprehensive response and policy action," he said.

National Australia Bank (NAB) currency strategist Emma Lawson said the G20 communique did not provide much in terms of "concrete policy".

"There are hopes that Europe will do the right thing and investigate moving towards closer integration but it has had very little impact."

The Russian city of St Petersburg will host the 2013 summit, followed by a yet to be announced Australian city in 2014.

Share This Page: