G20 Summit: Update on talks from Lord Mandelson
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- ITN
G20 Summit: Update on talks from Lord Mandelson
Gordon Brown has declared that there is a "high degree of consensus" among G20 leaders on a recovery plan for the world economy. Opening the main plenary session of the London summit, the Prime Minister said there was a significant element of agreement on the text of a final communiqué. "I believe that the text that has been circulated already reflects a very high degree of consensus and agreement between all of us," Mr Brown said. The world leaders are attempting to inject new confidence into the ailing global economy, in what is being described as a key test of Mr Brown's leadership and diplomacy. Chancellor Alistair Darling said the leaders had made "good progress" at the morning session of the summit held at the ExCel Centre in the capital's Docklands. "There have been differences between countries but what you are seeing is a determination to come together to make sure that we can resolve those differences," he said. "There is a very, very positive attitude. There is a very great determination that we make substantial progress. That is what the world expects from us." US President Barack Obama has warned that agreement at the much-heralded G20 summit in London's Docklands is essential if the world is to avoid the mistakes which led to the Great Depression of the 1930s. But hopes of a deal hit a stumbling block after French president Nicolas Sarkozy and German chancellor Angela Merkel warned they would not sign up unless there was tougher regulation of financial markets. At a joint news conference they said it was a "red line" issue and they would speak with "one and the same voice" in the talks. While there is a general belief that failure to reach an agreement would be unthinkable - sending financial markets into a tailspin - Mr Brown may have to endure some tense negotiating before he gets his deal. Mr Sarkozy in particular has faced accusations of grandstanding for the benefit of a French domestic audience, a claim he angrily brushed aside insisting that his hardline stance was nothing to do with "ego or temper tantrums". International Development Secretary Douglas Alexander dismissed the French tactics. "The easiest way to get headlines is to threaten to walk out," he said. He acknowledged however that the negotiations were entering a crucial phase. "These are critical hours," he said. "My hope is that in the hours between now and the conclusion of the meeting we will actually see the world coming together and agreeing an action plan for global recovery." No 10 would not comment on a report by The Daily Telegraph that the final communiqué would include a key Franco-German demand - a worldwide cap on bankers' pay and bonuses. Mr Sarkozy and Mrs Merkel are also pressing for effective action on tax havens, hedge funds, and banking transparency. The list reflects the belief in Paris and Berlin that the current crisis is the result of the excesses of the "Anglo Saxon" bankers in Britain and the US. In other measures, the summit is expected to agree additional resources for the International Monetary Fund to bail-out the hardest hit countries and commitments to avoid protectionism and re-start stalled world trade talks.
ITN | April 2, 2009
