THE TELEGRAPH: Tough regulation of global financial markets is a non-negotiable demand of France and Germany at tomorrow's G20 summit, Nicolas Sarkozy and Angela Merkel have said.
In a tough-speaking joint press conference in London on the eve of the summit, the two leaders left no doubt that they will refuse to sign an agreement which does not meet their "red lines" on tax havens, hedge fund regulation, banking transparency and a worldwide cap on bankers' pay.
Mr Sarkozy said that the summit provided a once in a lifetime opportunity to give capitalism a conscience.
He said: "Germany and France will speak with one and the same voice.
"We are aiming for the same objectives in terms of principles and how we apply those principles. The objective is a simple one – we demand results, we want hard and fast results."
He added: "This is a historic opportunity afforded us to give capitalism a conscience, because capitalism has lost its conscience and we have to seize this opportunity."
Mrs Merkel said that Germany was ready to offer support to poorer countries which are unable to deliver fiscal stimulus packages of tax spending and public investment from their own resources.
But she made clear that both France and Germany feel they have already implemented substantial stimulus packages of their own.
Mrs Merkel said that France and Germany wanted to see "a new architecture and new regulations for financial markets" spelt out very clearly in the final communique of the summit. G20 Summit: Nicolas Sarkozy and Angela Merkel Demand Tough Market Regulations >>> | Wednesday, April 1, 2009
TIMESONLINE: Franco-German Demands Upset G20 Unity
The leaders of France and Germany delivered a stunning ultimatum to Gordon Brown tonight when they demanded binding reform of world financial markets as the price of their support at tomorrow's G20 summit.
Nicolas Sarkozy and Angela Merkel made the comments at a joint press conference at which they promised that they would "speak with one voice" at the meeting in London's Docklands.
Having already scuppered Gordon Brown's plans for the summit to agree on a massive and coordinated fiscal stimulus, the two European heavyweights are demanding that it now move to do away with the "light-touch" Anglo-Saxon model of regulation blamed for the current economic crisis. >>> Philippe Naughton | Wednesday, April 1, 2009
