Brussels, 18/02/2011 (Agence Europe) - The finance ministers and central bank governors of the G20 countries opened their meeting on Friday 18 February with a dinner over which they discussed the global economic situation. The main subject for debate for the remainder of the meeting is how to draw up a short list of macroeconomic indicators.
France holds the rotating presidency of the G20 at the moment and has suggested indicators like current accounts, public deficit, public debt and savings. Finance Minister Christine Lagarde commented that agreement in principle on the indicators to measure imbalances would in itself be a huge step forward. At the meeting on Friday, China (accused by the West of using its low exchange rate for the yuan to bolster its massive trade surplus) refused to consider the use of criteria such as real exchange rates and currency reserves. Represented by Commissioner Olli Rehn and Hungarian Finance Minister György Matolcsy, the EU will be defending the position set out by the ECOFIN Council on Tuesday (EUROPE 10314), wanting a two-stage approach to identifying macroeconomic imbalances using a short list of indicators and in-depth research at the IMF to uncover the underlying causes of the imbalances. Suggested indicators include balance of payments, public finance, effective exchange rates and net position in foreign assets. The talks will also cover reform of the international system, tackling commodity price volatility, financial regulations and novel forms of finance. (M.B./transl.fl)