G-20 finance officials meet in Britain to discuss tackling crisis, Germany, France back tougher global financial regulations

G20 finance officials meet to discuss tackling crisis

2009-03-14 20:42:07

HORSHAM, Britain, March 14 (Xinhua) --

Finance ministers and central bank governors of the G20 countries started meeting here Saturday to discuss measures to deal with the economic crisis and reform the global financial system.

The meeting was hosted by British Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling, who said participants have discussed on Friday the situation facing all the countries across the world, saying he was sure Saturday's meeting would make progress.

The G20 London Summit will focus on issues including tackling the economy and getting banks to resume lending.

The finance officials will also discuss coordinated macro economic policies, the Washington Action Plan, principles for financial regulation and supervision, the role of international financial institutions such as International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank and multilateral development banks.

Altogether 21 finance ministers and 18 central bank governors from advanced economies such as the U.S., Japan, Britain, Germany and France, as well as emerging economies including China, India and South Africa attended the meeting.

Participants also included IMF president Dominique Strauss-Kahn, World Bank chief Robert Zoellick, and Joaquin Almunia, European Commissioner in charge of economic and monetary Affairs.

A communique is expected to be issued after the meeting, while Alistair Darling, U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and other finance ministers will hold press conference respectively.

G20 finance ministers, bankers meet in Britain for talks on financial crisis

2009-03-14 03:29:27

·G20 finance ministers and central bank governors held discussions on current financial crisis. ·They will discuss how to take short-term and long-term measures to deal with financial crisis. ·Ahead of the meeting, divergences between U.S. and EU have emerged and gradually widened.

HORSHAM, Britain, March 13 (Xinhua) --

G20 finance ministers and central bank governors arrived here Friday to hold discussions over how to deal with current financial crisis. The formal meeting will be held Saturday.

The G20 Finance Minister and Central Bank Governor Meeting, held in Horsham, southern part of England, and hosted by Alistair Darling, Chancellor of UK, is considered as a preparatory one to pave the way for G20 London Summit on April 2 with the topic of "stability, growth and jobs."

On Friday evening and Saturday, the finance ministers and central bank governors from both advanced economies and emerging and developing economies, will discuss such important issues as how to take short-term and long-term measures to deal with financial and economic crisis, how to reshape the global financial system and how to improve the role of the international financial institutions including International Monetary Fund.

Xie Xuren, China's Finance Minister, and Zhou Xiaochuan, Governor of China's central bank have arrived here, and they will set forth China's standpoints over such issues as how to increase the voice of emerging and developing economies in the international financial system, which is to be reshaped, and how to fight against trade and financial protectionism at the meeting.

Ahead of the G20 Finance and Central Bank Governors Meeting, divergences between the U.S. and the European Union (EU) have emerged and gradually widened . The U.S. hopes the London Summit will focus on how to increase spending to stimulate economy, while the EU wants to give priorities to reform the international financial system. European countries have little appetite to further build up their debts to stimulate their economies. Japan has backed America's standpoint, saying that April's G20 summit should focus on the need for immediate co-ordinated action to support the world economy rather than long-term efforts to reform the international financial system.

Therefore, finance ministers and central bank governors should try to remove these divergences in such a short time period so as to make good preparations for the London Summit, which is pinned great hope to create some clear and concrete measures to deal with the current crisis. However, it is widely believed that these divergences could not be removed at the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governor Meeting and will continue to display at the G20 London Summit.

As the host of the G20 London Summit, British Prime Minister has been working hard to encourage G20 countries to reach agreement over the above-mentioned issues all the time. Recently, he visited America and tried to get support from the American government, but he almost gained nothing. This has cast shadow over the upcoming London Summit.

Though Germany and France have reached a consensus to insist that next month's G20 Summit should focus on tougher global financial regulations and rejected US calls for European countries to spend more on supporting economic growth, the two big European states are worried that the priority of the London Summit would be shifted from "reforming international financial system" to "coordinating to stimulate global economy."

Last month, the British government publicized a report with the title of "Road to the London Summit," saying that three commitments should be made: First, to take whatever action is necessary to stabilize financial markets; Second, to reform and strengthen the global financial and economic system to restore confidence and trust; and Third, to put the global economy on track for sustainable growth.

However, current situation has showed that it is quite difficult for G20 countries to make such commitments at the Summit. It is also hard to put these commitments into practice even though they are made.

Germany, France back tougher global financial regulations

2009-03-14 00:30:45

BRUSSELS, March 13 (Xinhua) --

In an apparent showdown with the United States weeks ahead of the G20 summit in London, Germany and France joined hands in pushing for tougher global financial regulations, while rejecting Washington's call for more spending on economic stimulus.

However, it is uncertain whether members of the European Union (EU) will put aside their differences to forge a coordinated stance during the London Summit slated for April 2.

　　FOCUSING ON TOUGHER REGULATIONS

After a joint meeting of their cabinets in Berlin on Thursday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy said it was crucial for the London summit to achieve "concrete results" on the regulatory agenda.

"In Washington we agreed on principles, in London we want to see results," Sarkozy said, referring to the first G20 summit on the financial crisis last December in the American capital.

"The point is to implement the action plan from Washington," Merkel said. "That means: regulation, introducing transparency to the financial markets, strengthening multilateral institutions."

Merkel said she agreed with Sarkozy that the upcoming London summit should carry out pledges made at a mini EU summit in Berlin last month.

In an effort to hammer out a common EU position in the London summit, leaders of Germany, France, Britain, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic and Luxembourg endorsed a plan to press for tighter regulation of "all financial markets, products and participants, including hedge funds and other private pools of capital which may pose a systemic risk."

France and Germany "underline today that all hedge funds and private pools of capital that could constitute a systemic risk, should be subject to appropriate regulation and supervision," the two leaders said.

Strengthening financial rules has been a key demand of the EU in its call for a new global financial order after the 27-nation bloc was deeply mired in the current financial crisis, which was largely blamed on lack of regulation in the U.S.

REJECTING MORE STIMULUS

Although U.S. President Barack Obama said he has two goals for the London summit: to make sure there is "concerted action around the globe to jump-start the economy" and to achieve consensus on regulatory reform, Washington was obviously more interested in the first one.

In their recent comments, several U.S. officials including Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner all tried to center the priority of the London summit on the economic crisis rather than financial regulation.

Geithner said Wednesday that he hoped the G20 summit would put in place a "substantial, sustained commitment to stimulus" to help global economic recovery, suggesting major economies should spend at least 2 percent of their gross domestic product on stimulus packages this year, a target that the EU falls short of.

However, Germany and France rebuffed the U.S. call, standing ready for a collision course with Washington at the London summit.

"In Europe we have invested a lot into growth. The priority now is not to spend more but to put in place a system of regulation that will stop such a catastrophe from happening again," Sarkozy said.

"Fiscal stimuli are important and Europe has made its contribution in this regard, but they cannot replace the necessary regulation," Merkel said.

　　EU UNITY SOUGHT

Dubbed as the "engine" of the European integration process, Germany and France, however, do not always see eye to eye with each other in the wake of the financial crisis.

Paris' proposals for an EU-wide financial bailout fund and economic governance in the euro zone were all killed by Berlin, while Merkel's hesitation to boost the German economy in return annoyed Sarkozy.

But this time the Franco-German engine appears to be getting back into gear.

"We represent entirely the same position," Merkel said, indicating Germany and France were united to counter suggestions from the U.S. that the London summit should accept additional fiscal stimuli over financial regulation.

The Franco-German position is largely welcomed in the EU.

European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said Thursday the EU would make a "now or never" plea for stronger financial regulation at the London summit and rule out more fiscal stimulus.

"I would like our ambition matched by others, regarding new rules for supervision and regulation of the financial system," Barroso said.

All 27 EU leaders were due to meet on March 19 and 20 in Brussels on their coordinated position at the London gathering.

So far, the biggest swing force in the EU may be Britain, host of the London summit. There is concern that Britain might give ground to the United States since Finance Secretary Alistair Darling has sounded support for Washington's call for more spending.

But Merkel downplayed the possibility that Britain may be at odds with its European partners.

"(British Prime Minister) Gordon Brown was in Berlin, so I am very optimistic that the European position is unchanged from the Berlin meeting," she said.

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