Leaders of major European Union countries plan to inject new momentum into an overhaul of the global financial system with the help of international organizations. They reached this agreement at a meeting in Berlin.
European leaders are backing sweeping new regulations for financial markets and hedge funds.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel hosted heads of government and finance ministers from Europe's largest economies to try to establish a common European position on economic reforms before summit in April of the Group of 20 nations.
Angela Merkel. German Chancellor, said, "All financial markets, products and participants including hedge funds and other private pools of capital which may pose a systematic risk must be subjected to appropriate oversight or regulation."
European leaders backed Merkel's call for a "charter of sustainable economic activity" to reduce economic imbalances and stabilize financial markets.
The charter would subject all financial market activities around the globe to regulation, including credit rating agencies.
The leaders also agreed to strengthen the role of the International Monetary Fund and support doubling its funds.
Gordon Brown, British Prime Minister, said, "We decided that the international institutions should have at least 500 (b) billion dollars to enable them not just to deal with crises but to enable them to be able to prevent crises. We've also decided to we want to see a greater role for the World Bank in helping the poorest countries of the world."
Other key points included adopting sanctions to safeguard against tax havens and urging banks to keep larger reserves of capital.
In addition, the leaders agreed to return to the path of a sustainable budgetary policy as soon as possible. They also expressed strong opposition to trade protectionism.
(CCTV February 23, 2009)
