The euro zone does his part and now expects a comment from the IMF and G20
The euro area now expected a gesture of G20 countries and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to continue the fight against the debt crisis, after understanding that fulfilled its part to strengthen its financial rescue mechanism.
After intense negotiations, the 17 countries of the Monetary Union agreed on Friday in Copenhagen provided with a “firewall” of a theoretical total of 800,000 million euros, more than a billion dollars.
The decision, however, is less ambitious than expected: the euro area have only made 500,000 million euros in fresh capital.
This is a modest sum to come to the aid of a country like Spain, whose fiscal slippages concern.
But this agreement, postponed several times, is certainly positive for the euro area can expect to change the help of international partners.
“The idea is to have a double firewall, a European response and a coordinated international response by the IMF to increase its resources,” he said on Saturday the French Finance Minister, François Baroin, apart from a meeting with his European counterparts.
In late 2011, the European Union (EU) had launched a desperate appeal to the world to provide more resources to the IMF, and with them to address the debt crisis then threatening the very existence of the euro area.
In giving its reply, the institution of Washington and several G20 countries put as a precondition to any increase in IMF resources that the European bailout fund was in turn reinforced.
The message hit the rejection of Germany’s largest economy and largest contributor to the euro zone, re tired of paying for their European partners.
Finally, Berlin decided to relax its position.
“We have responded to our partners in the G20 (a forum of rich and emerging) and hope that this decision opens the way for an increase in IMF resources in April,” said Friday the European Commissioner for Economic Affairs, Olli Rehn.
Similarly, Jorg Asmussen, the board of the European Central Bank (ECB), said Europeans “had done their duty,” and now the ball was in the field IMF.
In Washington, the first reactions were positive, the IMF managing director, Christine Lagarde, who campaigned in favor of strengthening the firewall in the euro area, welcomed a decision to “support efforts” of the institution “to increase their resources available “.
Side equal satisfaction reigned U.S. Treasury.
Despite these good omens, “there will still be debates among the G20 on this issue, but going in the right direction,” said Baroin.
The IMF adopt its final decision at a meeting of 20 to 22 April.
To put all the cards in his hand, the euro area confirmed on Friday it would provide 150,000 million euros to IMF funds to feed, as was committed last December.
The idea at first was that other European countries outside the euro zone will contribute their share, in the form of 50,000 million euros in loans. But this commitment has not been confirmed.
The IMF currently has a capacity of 296,000 loans million. In January, the institution said sums sought to increase its lending capacity by 500,000 million.
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