Brussels, 19/07/2013 (Agence Europe) - The G20 finance summit in Moscow on Friday 19 and Saturday 20 July will try to define budget policy trajectories for G20 countries and examine implementation of financial reforms.
Russian deputy finance minister Sergei Storchak said on 18 July, before the summit, that there wouldn't be any new agreement setting strict targets for public debt and deficit but, in order to send reassuring signals to the markets, agreement would be reached on the direction to be taken by each country's budget policies. In 2010, the G20 decided that deficits should be halved by 2013 and debt stabilised or reduced by 2016, targets that will not be reached.
At the G20 summit, Euro Commissioner Olli Rehn said on Friday 19 July that the EU's policy takes a fourfold approach: “Steadily improving the structural sustainability of public finances, at a pace appropriate for each country; maintaining and where necessary stepping up the momentum on structural reforms for competitiveness, growth and jobs; making it easier for small businesses to find finance; and building on progress with banking union: the single supervisory mechanism should become fully operational by September 2014”, following detailed analysis of the balances of banks to be supervised directly by the European Central Bank.
Meeting jointly on Friday, the G20 Finance and G20 Jobs issued a joint statement on unemployment, which is a problem for all developed economies (see related article). According to European Commission figures, unemployment stands at 11.1% in the eurozone and 12.2% in the EU28. (MB/transl.fl)