Brussels, 08/02/2007 (Agence Europe) - 'We will have deep and serious discussions ... because there are grave and serious problems', said ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet on Thursday, ahead of the meeting in Essen (Germany) of G7 finance ministers and central bank governors on 9-10 February. Speaking at a press conference after the ECB Governing Council meeting, Trichet said he did not want to prejudge debate about the yen at the G7. The yen will clearly be discussed but Europeans will not necessarily be able to have it mentioned in the final communiqué. Trichet stuck to the line he took in Singapore in September last year, when he commented that the upturn in the Japanese economy was solid and the yen should match the same trend. He stressed this after the most recent meeting of eurozone finance minsters when he said that Japan's economic upturn should be reflected in yen exchange rates (see EUROPE 9355).
The G7 will be discussing stability and transparency on the financial markets, climate change, tackling corruption in Africa and reform of the International Monetary Fund. They will discuss promotion of bond markets in emerging economies with officials from Russia, Brazil, India, China, Mexico and South Africa. On G7 discussions of speculative funds, Trichet said he was very attached to voluntary standards as the best way for the funds themselves to determine the most appropriate way to behave. (ab)