Brussels, 23/09/2011 (Agence Europe) - An action plan of coordinated policies, including short-term measures and medium-term prospects, will be unveiled at the G20 summit in Cannes (France) on 3-4 November. Its aim will be to support economic growth while continuing to restore public finances, explained G20 ministers and bankers meeting in Washington on Thursday 22 September, who defended the approach decided upon at the G7 finance summit earlier this month that a strong, coordinated, international response is needed to combat the increased financial tension, the economic slowdown and the sovereign debt crisis (see EUROPE 10450).
The Washington G20 summit press releases states that focusing more on budget consolidation, Europe has taken determined action to ensure the stability of public finance, and that the eurozone countries are implementing decisions taken at their summit on 21 July (on the second Greek bailout programme and increasing the powers of the EFSF bailout fund). Six G20 members, however, urged the eurozone to act faster and more tangibly to solve the sovereign debt crisis, namely Australia, Canada, South Korea, Indonesia, Mexico and the United Kingdom. In a joint letter to the acting chairman of the G20, Nicolas Sarkozy, the six countries say: “Eurozone governments and institutions must act swiftly to resolve the euro crisis and all European economies must confront the debt overhang to prevent contagion to the wider global economy.” They consider that a major priority is to strengthen the European banking system.
On bank capitalisation, the politicians and central bankers of the G20 state in their press release: “We commit to take all necessary actions to preserve the stability of banking systems and financial markets as required. We will ensure that banks are adequately capitalised and have sufficient access to funding to deal with current risks and that they fully implement Basel III along the agreed timelines.” (M.B./transl.fl)