A hymn sheet will be handed out to European finance ministers meeting in emergency session in Luxembourg today. Choirmaster Darling will do his best to make sure each of his colleagues sings from it in a voice that rings out with crystal clarity.

A hymn sheet will be handed out to European finance ministers meeting in emergency session in Luxembourg today. Choirmaster Darling will do his best to make sure each of his colleagues sings from it in a voice that rings out with crystal clarity. Timing is everything, not just in music. It was unfortunate, to say the least, that Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor, should announce on Sunday what appeared to be unilateral action to protect her country's private savers only a day after she and other EU leaders endorsed concerted action to tackle the global financial crisis.

That discordant note must be seen in the context of the eleventh-hour rescue of Hypo Real Estate, Germany's second-biggest mortgage lender. But it sent shockwaves reverberating through the global economy as stock markets plunged on concerns about the health of the banking sector. Alistair Darling, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, sought to steady nerves in Britain by again insisting that the government would do whatever was necessary to ensure the stability of the financial system. The banks have little confidence in each other. A crisis that unfolded in North America has spread to Europe and beyond.

The response in Ireland was all too clear, with a mega-guarantee covering all deposits and some debt a major concern for British bankers anxious to hold on to all of the deposits they can. The problem with Ms Merkel's response was that it was unclear, causing mayhem on the stock markets as it was inferred that Germany was making promises on the Irish model. This does not seem to be the case. Indeed, it appears clear that the German response was more of a political commitment than a specific change in existing protection schemes for German savers. Like other western governments, the Germans will do whatever it takes to bring financial markets back to normal and avoid a 1930s-style depression Clearly, Mr Darling sees some unilateral action as inevitable, especially where individual banks are on the brink. But co-ordinated intervention offers greater rewards. Hence the statement to which EU leaders have signed up, spelling out the scope for action: liquidity support through central banks; intervention to deal with individual banks; or enhanced protection schemes for depositors. There is nothing wrong, in principle, with these schemes becoming the vogue across Europe (provided they do not put a state at undue risk or give it an unfair advantage in the contest to woo depositors).

It is difficult to do when a bank is facing collapse but rescue plans should be managed in a co-ordinated way. Not just that; the action taken, especially when it involves protecting depositors' savings, must be spelled out in language that leaves no-one in any doubt as to what is involved. Confusion causes disarray, as can be seen from the fall-out from Ms Merkel's equivocal comments. It is sensible to follow Corporal Jones's exhortation not to panic. It is equally wise to follow the advice of top-notch creative writing courses: clarity is everything.