LONDON (AFP) - Prime Minister Gordon Brown has said he will propose a 12-billion-pound fund to help small businesses deal with the international financial crisis when he meets other European leaders in Paris.

Brown told reporters he would propose the fund "so that small businesses in our country and the rest of Europe can get money immediately so that they can continue to employ staff and continue to provide services".

He added that he would call for world leaders to "work together to clean up the system, both in America and Europe" by promoting transparency in the financial markets, and put together a timetable for international meetings to agree to changes.

Brown will arrive in Paris later on Saturday for a meeting with the leaders of France, Germany and Italy, the other members of the European Union's four biggest economies, to discuss the financial crisis.

As lawmakers in Washington wrangled over their own 700-billion-dollar rescue package, which was finally approved Friday, European governments have been forced to ride to the rescue of several major European banks this week.

Brown's government announced Monday the nationalisation of Bradford & Bingley, coinciding with the 11.2-billion-euro bailout of banking and insurance group Fortis by the Belgian, Dutch and Luxembourg governments.

A day later, Belgium, France and Luxembourg joined together to inject 6.4 billion euros into banking group Dexia and in GermanyHypo Real Estate was saved by a government-backed rescue move.

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