Merkel disappointed with G20 commitment
German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned on Friday that the G20 summit may break up without agreeing a much needed financial boost for Europe's rescue fund for indebted countries.
“There really are hardly any countries here that said they will join” the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF), Merkel told reporters at the summit in Cannes, France according to Bloomberg News.
The heads of other leading industrial countries were apparently reluctant to commit extra cash to Europe's bailout fund without knowing more details about Greece's position ahead of a no-confidence in the Greek parliament on Friday.
“The worst thing to do would be to try and cook up a number without being clear who was agreeing to what,” British Prime Minister David Cameron said. “The job of the IMF is to help countries in distress, not to support currency systems.”
French President Nicolas Sarkozy said it may take until February for a deal to be finalized.
But Merkel was more positive about the discussions on reining in excesses on the financial markets. “We can be very satisfied with the results of financial market regulation,” she said according to the website of Der Spiegel news magazine.
Though details are still to be worked out, the G20 agreed that the world’s 29 largest banks would have to show they have more capital before making risky investments. This is meant to preclude a repeat of the Lehman Brothers investment bank
bankruptcy in 2008.
The Local/bk
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“There really are hardly any countries here that said they will join” the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF), Merkel told reporters at the summit in Cannes, France according to Bloomberg News.
The heads of other leading industrial countries were apparently reluctant to commit extra cash to Europe's bailout fund without knowing more details about Greece's position ahead of a no-confidence in the Greek parliament on Friday.
“The worst thing to do would be to try and cook up a number without being clear who was agreeing to what,” British Prime Minister David Cameron said. “The job of the IMF is to help countries in distress, not to support currency systems.”
French President Nicolas Sarkozy said it may take until February for a deal to be finalized.
But Merkel was more positive about the discussions on reining in excesses on the financial markets. “We can be very satisfied with the results of financial market regulation,” she said according to the website of Der Spiegel news magazine.
Though details are still to be worked out, the G20 agreed that the world’s 29 largest banks would have to show they have more capital before making risky investments. This is meant to preclude a repeat of the Lehman Brothers investment bank
bankruptcy in 2008.
The Local/bk
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