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11/05/2011

G20 leaders agree to boost IMF resources

G20 leaders in Cannes have ended their summit with a plan to boost growth and rebalance the global economy.


The ongoing eurozone debt crisis has dominated the summit.

In a closing press conference, French President Nicolas Sarkozy said: "We will fight to defend Europe and the euro."

He said the G20 had agreed to boost the resources of the International Monentary Fund (IMF) and would agree on specific steps by February.

Mr Sarkozy also said that France and Germany were in favour of a financial transactions tax and they hoped it would be implemented in 2012.

British Prime Minister David Cameron said it was "essential for confidence and economic stability" that the IMF had the resources it needed, but reaffirmed that the UK would not contribute to any eurozone bailout.

Also at the summit, EU Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said that Italy had asked the IMF to monitor the implementation of its economic reforms.

The reforms will be based on the package that was outlined by Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi in a letter to EU leaders last week.
Greek problems

The leaders' hope is that increased resources will help the IMF to support struggling eurozone economies, such as Greece.

Mr Barroso said that he hoped Greece would stay in the euro, but added that the country would need to take on the responsibilities that come with membership.Greek prime minister George Papandreou will face a confidence vote in parliament on Friday.

Opposition politicians and some members of his government have called for his resignation, following his announcement of a referendum on the austerity measures.

The finance minister said on Friday that the referendum has now been scrapped, but the announcement of the referendum caused big market falls earlier in the week.

US President Barack Obama said on Thursday that resolving the eurozone debt crisis was "the most important aspect of our task over the next two days".

If Mr Papandreou loses the confidence vote then Greece will have to hold fresh elections, which may further delay the implementation of a Greek bailout package.

Eurozone leaders have already withheld 8bn euros ($11bn; £7bn) of fresh rescue loans to Greece and there are fears that further delays may see the government run out of cash and default on its payments.
Italian reforms

Italy's decision to call in the IMF to make sure it implements austerity measures is a response to the increasing pressure from eurozone leaders to reduce its debt levels.On Thursday, six former allies of Silvio Berlusconi wrote an open letter urging him to resign after his government failed to agree economic reforms.

The Italian cabinet agreed a limited package of budget reforms at an emergency meeting on Wednesday evening, but they failed to agree to issue a decree implementing the changes, meaning that they must now go to a confidence vote in parliament.

"Developments in Italy are a crucial test for the credibility of the anti-crisis framework set by the European Union," said Luigi Speranza of BNP Paribas.


BBC news

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