Sarkozy launches presidency of the G20 - February 18, 2011
It was this Friday in Paris the starting point of the French presidency of the G20. In the late afternoon, Nicolas Sarkozy at the Elysee received Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors of the coterie of twenty countries representing 85% of global gross domestic product. "The G20 will retain its legitimacy if it can demonstrate its effectiveness in the recovery. It is therefore your responsibility and that of heads of State and Government to provide answers to key questions facing today's global economy, "commented the Head of State. Before exhorting the audience not to "give priority to national interests" that would cause "death G20" and the call does not bog down the debate "in endless discussions.
A tip for the less welcome. For in the aftermath, ministers and central bankers would sit for a working dinner at the Hotel de Marigny.With the menu: the difficult development of a list of indicators to measure the macroeconomic imbalances, the first step before a debate on remedies to reduce them. This list should make it possible to send to different countries by the end of 2011 and led the International Monetary Fund (IMF), economic policy recommendations.
The positions of the twenty member countries on Friday on the issue of indicators augur well for the difficult discussions, which continues today with sessions at Bercy. The Deputy Russian Finance Minister Dmitry Pankin, reported in the afternoon that the first draft final communique included four indicators of current account imbalances, the exchange rate, public deficit and private debt. A little phrase that started the game strategist negotiators, each role is to defend its interests.And has enabled China to express his differences. Always under pressure to revalue its currency, it will not be dictating policy in this area.
"Earning a certain amount of reserves"
In the minute that followed the Russian statement, Finance Minister Xie Xuren told himself firmly opposed to the inclusion as a factor of disequilibrium exchange rates and foreign exchange reserves no fax payday loans. "Emerging markets have to cope with financial crises and economic shocks, accumulate a certain amount of reserves," he said. He also hopes that the standard current account is replaced by that of the trade balance. China also believes that the rules on indicators should be advisory and not binding.
For their part, the Indian Finance Minister, Pranab Mukherjee, and Brazil, Guido Mantega, were opposed to the implementation of a comprehensive mechanism of control of capital flows. Depending on the progress of negotiations, the final statement may not mention at all of the list of indicators. "This is not a tragedy," stated the French Economy Minister Christine Lagarde, early in the week. According to other sources, the G20 could offer China the possibility of excluding the balance of payments imbalances measurement criteria, to enable a comprehensive agreement on the issue. The German Finance Minister, Jörg Asmussen, hoped on Friday that discussions to reach an agreement.
The five French priorities G20
• Identifying the macroeconomic imbalances.
• Réformerle international monetary system.
• Reduce excessive volatility of raw materials.
• providing a program offering financial regulation flawless.
• Develop infrastructure in the country.
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