Brussels, 23/10/2011 (Agence Europe) - France and Germany reminded all their European partners of their desire to set in place a tax on financial transactions. The French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, stressed this point on Sunday 23 October, after the European Council that covered, among other things, the preparation of the G20 summit in Cannes (3-4 November). In its conclusions, the European Council stated that it was necessary to reflect upon the establishment of a worldwide financial transaction tax and to take forward the work on such a tax.
“We are very keen on this tax. There is a Commission proposal and the whole of the financial sector must be regulated and must also be called upon to shoulder its responsibilities. If we are where we are today, it is because there is, of course, too much debt, and because there has been a financial system that does not follow any rules. We must turn the page on that world, thanks to regulatory measures making it possible to prevent the same causes having the same effects”, Sarkozy said. These discussions will be continued in the context of the G20, Sarkozy went on to say, as there is the problem of Europe in the world. He called for all EU partners to “help us and not to be too critical as every zone in the world has its problems”.
Angela Merkel was fully in support of the idea of a financial transaction tax, that Sarkozy described as a “moral, political and economic” obligation.
Nicolas Sarkozy also said it will be necessary for the EU to reach an agreement on Wednesday 26 October, to “ease the financial crisis”, as “this will help us, with Germany, to prepare the G20, where other decisions must be taken to regulate globalisation and allow the world to get back onto the road to global growth”.
The Netherlands finds the idea a good one but expressed concern about this only being done at European level.
In its conclusions, the European Council states “determined action is necessary to maintain financial stability, restore confidence and support growth and job creation”. At the Cannes Summit, real progress must also be achieved on the following: - reforming the international monetary system (IMS) (in particular by reinforcing surveillance and crisis management tools and better coordinating economic and monetary policies, and avoiding financial protectionism); - strengthening the regulation and supervision of the financial sector (implementation of the Basel agreements, reform of OTC derivatives, and remuneration principles and standards, as well as combating the existence of tax havens and reducing over-reliance on credit ratings, and the introduction of a global financial transaction tax should be explored and developed further); - tackling the excessive volatility of commodity prices (enhancing transparency in commodity markets and improving the functioning and regulation of derivative markets); - promoting global recovery and sustainable inclusive growth (by supporting an active WTO negotiating agenda, including for the least developed countries, and by fully implementing the G20 Development Agenda through concrete measures); - advancing international trade liberalisation and resisting protectionism (in particular by agreeing a credible plan as a basis for concluding the Doha Development Round, and considering innovative approaches to strengthen the multilateral trading system); - and combating climate change. (LC/transl.jl)