Tag Archives: G20

News

Could France Need a Bail-Out?

1 Comment


The former UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown has spoken ahead of next week’s G20 summit in Mexico, about the prospect of a required bailout for Italy and France. Gordon Brown has called for the G20 to begin to draw up a “concerted global action plan” to deal with the crisis.

This comes after German Chancellor Angela Merkel, attacked the French President Francois Hollande for allowing the French economy to stall. She also echoed Mr Brown’s comments, warning that Hollande’s socialist policies could lead to France being enveloped by the debt crisis.

Last year, when officials began to speak of the contagion spreading to Italy and Spain, no solid measures were put in place, and now we are on the brink of Spain requiring a full bail-out (the bailout currently under consideration is only to bailout their struggling banking system). Spain and Italy were both labelled at the time as “too big to fail”.  At that time the thought of a French bailout was unthinkable.

However, it is expected that the summit in Los Cabos, Mexico, will see world leaders continuing to pressure Chancellor Angela Merkel to agree to Eurobonds. Mrs Merkel has left Germany for the summit, remaining steadfast in her tough austerity stance – in the face of French opposition from Francois Hollande, and with President Obama also backing the new French President.

 

News

G20 Meeting Cannes 3rd-4th November

World leaders will meet at the next G20 summit to take place in Cannes, France, 3rd-4th November 2011. With the world on the brink of global financial meltdown, this meeting is being seen as one of the last chances the world leaders will have of formulating a plan to avert financial catastrophe.

The date has galvanised resolve amongst Europe’s leaders to come prepared with a plan for the European Debt Crisis.  President Sarkozy and Chancellor Merkel have set a dead line for the end of October to come up with a “comprehensive” response, in time for the G20 summit. Their talks have come as the US, UK and developing world have placed increased pressure on the Eurozone to come up with a plan, criticising Europe for thus far “doing too little, too late.”

Merkel and Sarkozy are seeking to put together a package that will massively recapitalize the European banking sector in order to re-establish global confidence in Europe’s banks, as well as to bolster the European Financial Stability Facility bail-out Fund (EFSF), provide strong action on Greece, and plan ahead to avoid this happening again.

Major problems to find a solution exist. In particular, France is reluctant to use tax-payers money to help the banks, and Germany does not want to continue to pour money into the EFSF. The IMF has estimated that the European banks have a black hole of €200bn, and that the EFSF requires at least an extra €440bn.

The chairman of the Bank of England has said that the current financial crisis is “the most serious… since 1930s, if ever.” Never in history has the global financial system been so interlinked and integrated; meaning that if one part of the system fails, the knock on effects are felt everywhere. If Europe falls, she will take America and the UK with her!

The 1930s financial turmoil led to social meltdown as well as serious political problems. The economic woes of the 1930s helped Hitler’s rise to power in Germany and Communism take hold. However, there is still hope. The west does not need to revisit that type of social and political meltdown. We can yet find a way forward. Key to a solution being found is strong leadership, collective international resolve, and nerve to make tough choices. The G20 meeting in Cannes may be the last chance for the world leaders to show these attributes. Up until now there has been a lack of leadership, unwillingness to act and confusion.

The current raft of measures being considered may help avert economic meltdown, but what is also needed is a workable solution to resolve the fundamental problems within the Eurozone. Until the issue of imbalances between creditor and debtor nations are resolved, any measures will prove to be a sticking plaster on the problem, and we simply stave off disaster for another day.

This is the hour our leaders need wisdom and an atmosphere controlled by the Spirit of God. Support Prophet TV so we can run an intercessory prayer trip into Europe at this key hour of decision making; It will impact upon your life as well as the lives of the next generation.