Brussels, 23/07/2013 (Agence Europe) - In a joint letter to the 28 EU member states setting out the EU's priorities for the G20 Summit in St Petersburg on 5 and 6 September 2013, the president of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso, and the president of the European Council, Herman Van Rompuy, said that the G20 should set out more clearly the progress made in reforming financial regulations and the future challenges.
They are pleased that the EU has met its commitments in all areas in a timely manner by adjusting its financial system so that new rules will apply by the end of the year. They call for renewed commitment from the G20 to timely introduction of the agreed reforms, particularly the Basel III international agreement on boosting the capital requirements for banks; introducing bank resolution schemes; reducing the risk of “too-big-to-fails” and ensuring convergence of legislation on derivatives trading.
The two European leaders' priorities are closely aligned with the final statement of the G20 finance summit in Moscow last weekend (see EUROPE 10893). Relieved that the risk of collapse of the eurozone has sharply subsided since the Los Cabos summit in June 2012, Barroso and Van Rompuy focus on economic growth, which they say is weak in Europe. They say that the medium-term budget strategies of member states need to strike the right balance between consolidating public finances, introducing structural reforms and targeted investment to tackle unemployment, particularly youth unemployment. They add that a strong anti-protectionist message is needed at the Bali summit.
The two leaders fully back the idea of ensuring that automatic exchange of bank information for tax authorities is spread around the world, saying that the EU has know-how and experience in this area. Draft legislation has been on the negotiating table since June to spread automatic exchange of information to all types of income by 2015 (see EUROPE 10865), but exchange of information is not yet fully in force in the EU for savings tax. Barroso and Van Rompuy also back the OECD's action plan to halt the erosion of the tax base and the transfer of profits to other countries by multinationals, along with the focus on ensuring the taxation of companies operating in the digital economy.
The two politicians say that all member states have ratified changes to the way the International Monetary Fund is governed and they encourage the other members of the IMF to follow suit. They say that the EU should make it clear that it is prepared to work later this year on changing the block voting rules at the IMF. (MB/transl.fl)