Europe backs financial clampdown
23-02-2009
European leaders have backed sweeping new regulations for financial markets and hedge funds at a summit in Berlin as politicians and nations scramble to tame the global economic crisis. German Chancellor Angela Merkel hosted heads of state and finance ministers from Europe's largest economies to try to establish a common European position on economic reforms before an April 2 summit of the Group of 20 nations. "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," Ms Merkel said in a statement released on behalf of the summit members, following the talks. The statement said top officials from Britain, France, Italy, Luxembourg, Spain, the Netherlands and Czech Republic agreed on key points during their one-day meeting. Those ideas will be taken up by the European Council on March 19-20, then presented to the G-20 meeting in London. "A clear message and concrete action are necessary to engender new confidence in the markets and to put the world back on a path toward more growth and employment," Ms Merkel said. European leaders backed Ms Merkel's call for a "charter of sustainable economic activity" to guide a reduction of economic imbalances and to stabilize financial markets. The charter would subject all financial market activities around the globe to regulation, including credit rating agencies.
