Tax havens and hedge funds
20 February 2009
Please read the full article from the European voice
below
A list of "un-cooperative" tax havens could be drafted for 10
March meeting of EU finance ministers.
The leaders of the European Union's biggest economies agreed on
Sunday that there must be stricter regulation of hedge funds, a
crackdown on tax havens and an injection of capital for the
International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Their meeting in Berlin was billed as a preparation for the G20
summit of developed and developing economies to be held in London
on 2 April. Angela Merkel, the chancellor of Germany, who hosted
Sunday's discussions, said the aim was to come up with a united EU
position for that summit.
Merkel said that the meeting had concluded that "all market
participants" need to be regulated and supervised. But she said
that the details of how to regulate the hedge funds and rating
agencies "have to be worked out". She said action would be taken
against "un-cooperative players", such as "tax havens and other
places where untransparent business is carried out".
The EU would draw up a list showing un-cooperative areas, by 2
April at the latest but possibly as soon as the next meeting of EU
finance ministers, on 10 March.
The aim of the G20 should be 'a global new deal, a grand bargain
between the countries and continents of this world'
Merkel said that the IMF had to be strengthened. Gordon Brown,
the British prime minister, said there was an agreement to propose
a $500 billion (€390bn) IMF fund (compared with the current $250bn)
so that the IMF could prevent crises.
Brown said the aim of the G20 should be
"a global new deal, a grand bargain between the countries and
continents of this world" so that "the economic system of the
future can be based on the soundest and best principles". Instead
of national supervisors alone, there must be a global system, he
said.
Mirek Topolánek, the prime minister of the Czech Republic, which
holds the presidency of the Council of Ministers, has been charged
with communicating the conclusions of the Berlin talks to those EU
states that were not present.
In addition to Topolánek, those attending were the leaders
of the four EU states that are members of the G7 – Germany,
the UK, France and Italy – plus Spain and the Netherlands.
Jean-Claude Juncker, the prime minister of Luxembourg, attended as
chairman of the Eurogroup, which brings together the eurozone's
finance ministers. José Manuel Barroso, president of the European
Commission, and Jean-Claude Trichet, president of the European
Central Bank, also took part.
Nicolas Sarkozy, the president of France, said that European
leaders were agreed in wanting to see an overhaul of the system. It
was important that there were sanctions, he said. Recalling that at
the previous G20 summit in Washington in November it had been hard
to get any mention of tax havens, he applauded the EU's agreement
on a crackdown and on the need for greater regulation of hedge
funds and of rewards in the banking sector.
The EU leaders are scheduled to meet for an informal EU summit
next Sunday (1 March) and for the Spring European Council on 19-20
March.
Asked about the strains in the eurozone, particularly the
different spreads on government bonds, Juncker said it was "first
and foremost" the responsibility of the national government to deal
with any risk of default on payments. But, he added, he saw no
imminent danger.
Topolánek held a separate meeting in Berlin with Trichet, at
which they discussed the problems that would be created for central
and eastern European countries if western European banks were to
cut off the supply of funds for subsidiaries there.
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