G-20 host says I.M.F. pledges must be a priority
Baku, June 20 (AZERTAC). The world`s biggest economies must commit to a strong Europe and could agree to further bolster the International Monetary Fund`s ability to contain fallout from the European debt crisis, President Felipe Calderón of Mexico said before the Group of 20 summit meeting.
Mr. Calderón will host the leaders of the G-20 developed and emerging economies starting Monday in the Pacific resort area of Los Cabos, with the meeting overshadowed by crucial elections in Greece and mounting worries about Spain and Italy.
“Even though we don`t expect to reach specific agreements on Europe, I want to see language and promises which are much more oriented to a new, stronger Europe, a Europe of the 21st century,” Mr. Calderón said over the weekend.
Greek elections Sunday could help determine whether the country will remain in the euro zone, battling a debt crisis that has dragged on for two and a half years. Mr. Calderón said it was important to be prepared for any outcome from the voting.
Mexico`s first priority for the summit meeting was to finalize G-20 members` pledges to give the I.M.F. more crisis-fighting resources, Mr. Calderón said.
In April, G-20 countries pledged at least $430 billion in new loans to the I.M.F. so it could help countries hit hardest by the debt crisis. But emerging market powers like Brazil, China, Mexico and Russia have not yet said what specific amounts they would contribute.
“I estimate that it could be a bigger capitalization than the preliminary agreement reached in Washington, which will be finalized here, but I don`t want to speculate how much,” Mr. Calderón said, adding that it was “a pity” that Canada and the United States were not chipping in.
Mr. Calderón would not be drawn out on the specifics of the Mexican contribution, which should be at least $8 billion, given the country`s share in the I.M.F.`s capital.
He said it would be more than $1 billion, but would not comment on whether it would exceed $10 billion, the amount Brazil has named as a yardstick for its contribution.
Gordon Brown, the former British prime minister, wrote in a column for Reuters that the G-20 must produce a concerted global action plan, including a robust European firewall to stop contagion and a comprehensive growth plan.
Mr. Calderón said that it would be impossible to solve all of Europe`s problems at the G-20 meetings, but added that the region was on the right track.
The most important thing is for Europe to use the opportunity to forge closer links on budgets and banking to make the region more resilient, he said.
Mr. Calderón said he thought Europe`s contribution was “to create the right conditions so that the fate or the economic future of Europe does not depend on one case,” he said. “That implies first making progress in the construction of the European Union.”The European Commission will meet June 28 and 29 to consider a road map for fiscal and possibly banking union in the region.
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