Brussels, 04/11/2008 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday 4 November, European finance ministers debated the European position planned for the first international summit on reforming the world financial system on Saturday 15 November in Washington, on the basis of the working document being prepared by the French presidency (EUROPE 9774). On Tuesday 4 November, the acting president of the Council, Christine Lagarde announced at the end of the work that they had produced, “the concerted message of member states on the world's financial architecture”. The French document will be reworked on the basis of remarks made by delegations so that a new document, perhaps more concise and political, can be sent to delegations on Thursday in view of the special European summit programmes for Friday 7 November.
Considered as a good base for discussions by most delegations, the French EU Presidency's working paper sets out 11 suggestions on which an agreement could be reached in Washington. “We have drawn up a list of points that we shall seek to put forward clearly at international level and on which there has been massive support”, the French finance minister said. She twice stressed the need to ensure that no financial product, no financial player and no jurisdiction will remain outside the scope of regulatory application. The other points concern, for example, a regulatory framework for rating agencies, revision of international accounting rules, strengthened crossborder cooperation between supervisory authorities, and the promotion of systems of remuneration that do not encourage excessive risk-taking.
French voluntarism is such that, in some delegations, there is caution if not some concern. Finland sounded a note of caution against excessive regulation, a tradition that is traditionally close to that of the United Kingdom. Speaking to the delegations that highlight European commitments in favour of better regulation, European Commissioner Joaqin Almunia, responsible for economic and monetary affairs, said “there cannot be better regulation without first having regulation”.
The way chosen by the French Presidency involves more a revolution than evolution of the international financial system, said Czech Finance Minister Miroslav Kalousek. The Czech Republic, which will take on the rotating Presidency of the EU on 1 January 2009, will be represented in Washington by a high-ranking official. The Netherlands has circulated its own “non-paper”, which is more general in its objectives than the French document. It calls for agreement on the following points: strengthening the responsibility and functioning of the financial sector in order to encourage long-term stability, the supervision of cross-border financial institutions, and the role of the IMF. Germany challenged the French proposal for a coordinated response to international macroeconomic challenges. “For us, it is very important that there be no suspicion around the establishment of a European economic government,” said German Finance Minister Peer Steinbrück. Spain said it was important to “take account of the points of view of the emerging countries”, with the French document raising the possibility of opening up the G8 to these countries. Spain is continuing its diplomatic activity to be included in the Washington summit. (M.B./transl.rh/jl/rt)