Countries with big deficits must offer clear plans on how they will balance their budgets to maintain investor confidence and avoid problems seen in Europe, top economic policymakers said on Monday.

The warnings came after finance ministers and central bankers meeting in South Korea reached an uneasy compromise on Saturday on the speed at which budget cuts should be made to calm global financial markets rattled by the spreading debt crisis in Europe.

Make sure that you give signals to the markets about fiscal consolidation, Angel Gurria, head of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), told a conference in Montreal on Monday.

Gurria said it was imperative that countries announce their fiscal plans to avoid what happened with Greece's debt crisis, when uncertainty spurred investors to sell the country's bonds and drive its borrowing costs higher.

Do we have to start now? No. Do we have to announce now? Yes, said Gurria, secretary-general of the OECD, a group of 31 countries that promotes democratic government and market-based economies.

Financial markets fear that other countries could suffer the same fate as Greece, which has already taken drastic measures to bring its fiscal house in order.

Greece has pledged to cut its public deficit by almost a third to 8.7 percent of gross domestic product this year. Germany has also announced plans to pursue savings in an effort to shore up confidence in the finances of the 16 nations that use the euro.

Hungary rattled investors last week with comments suggesting the country was close to a Greek-style economic meltdown. It tried to back off those comments over the weekend.

European Central Bank board member Christian Noyer said that the recent developments in Greece show the recovery is fragile even though the short-term economic outlook for the European Union is favorable.

The Greek debt crisis illustrated the risks of postponing deficit control measures, Noyer told the same conference in Montreal.

Euro zone finance ministers are trying to set up a vehicle for emergency borrowing that would act as a safety net for countries that are not able to obtain financing from markets.

Although economic recovery has been fragile in Europe, structural reforms could allow it to leave behind the crisis once and for all, said Noyer, who is also governor of the Bank of France.

Speaking in Toronto, Canadian Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said on Monday that G20 finance ministers and central bankers were particularly concerned about European countries that are running unsustainable deficits and urged action.

We've pushed hard for those countries that need to fiscally consolidate in Europe to get on with it and to demonstrate their resolve, Flaherty told reporters.

This is important because there is a risk to economic growth generally if the fiscal consolidation issue is not dealt with expeditiously and effectively.

(Editing by Jeffrey Hodgson and Peter Galloway)

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