The world's leading economies worked to line up a deal in April on a second global rescue package worth nearly $2 trillion (€1.4 trillion) to stop the euro-zone sovereign debt crisis from spreading.
Germany has said it would make a decision sometime in March on strengthening Europe's bailout fund, a move other Group of 20 countries say is essential to clear the way for throwing extra funds into the International Monetary Fund.
The twin proposals would build up massive international resources by the end of April - when the G20 group next meets - and convince financial markets they can stem the euro-zone's deep problems.
It would mark their boldest effort since 2008, when the G20 mustered $1 trillion (€742bn) to help rescue the world economy.
British finance minister George Osborne has said that there would be no additional resources committed to the IMF until euro zone countries bolstered their own efforts to stop contagion.
German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble, whose government has taken a tough public line on aid for Greece, said European leaders will tackle the adequacy of the region's firewall during March.
The issue will be debated at an EU summit next week.
But the G20 has no intention of easing its pressure on Europe by giving it a strong signal now that new IMF money is in the bag.
Its communiqué after two days of ministerial meetings ended today stated that the world's leading economies will review the resources of the IMF in April without setting a date for a deal, G20 officials said.
Another official has said that there was debate between the US and Europe over whether the communique should say an increase in the firewall was "essential" or just "important" to secure an increase in IMF resources.
US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said yesterday that Europe had come a long way in laying the foundations for a "credible" crisis response but could not rest there.
