Brussels, 02/11/2011 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday 2 November, the NGOs of the G20 countries stressed to Nicolas Sarkozy that the Cannes summit, on Thursday and Friday, must allow the adoption of a tax on financial transactions in certain “pioneer” countries, to fund development in poorer countries.
“The main thing is getting a dual affirmation in Cannes: firstly, for the tax not to be blocked by certain countries, as there will certainly not be a unanimous decision of the G20 on the subject (…), and secondly, for the revenue from this tax genuinely to benefit development”, said the director-general of Oxfam France, Luc Lamprière.
The financial transactions tax and, more generally, the issue of innovative funding for development have been included on the agenda of the G20 by Sarkozy. However, the United States and the UK are opposed to the creation of a tax of this kind. Apart from France, only Germany has announced its decision unilaterally to set the tax in place. (LC/transl.fl)