France offered to send anti-pollution experts, including veterans of the fight against last year's tanker disaster off France's west coast, Environment Minister Dominique Voynet said.
"We are studying ways of coordinating a European response," Voynet said, "but it is imperative we move quickly."
German authorities said they were "ready to send aid," and the cooperation ministry said the form of such help would be studied by a German expert despatched to the scene of the disaster.
For its part, the European Commission said it would soon send technical experts to Ecuador, according to a spokeswoman who gave no further details.
The Galapagos Islands are under threat after the Ecuadoran oil tanker Jessica spilled some 600 tonnes of fuel oil.
The slick is now covering more than 1,200 square kilometers (460 square miles) of once pristine seas following the tanker's grounding a week ago off the most eastern of the islands, San Cristobal.
burs/sas/sst AFP
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