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03/04/2009

Algemeen Dagblad called the summit a ‘historic success’ saying that the end agreements went further than vague promises and that is a ‘victory’.

Volkskrant l quoted Dutch Finance Minister Bos: ‘It's a process of small steps, sometimes you lose sight of the finish line, but when you look back , we've made enormous progress since Washington’. Such as the bonus structure for bankers, ‘two years ago we would have been laughed at for starting on that’.  

Trouw says the agreements at the summit are a step in the right direction towards a solution for the present economic crisis. The greatest gain is the fact that the G20 proved itself as a platform for negotiation.

Editorial comment in the Financieele Dagblad says the best thing to come out of the G20 was renewed attention on the problems of the world’s poorest countries.  The article says this G20 has a commendable outcome compared to the usual traditional and well meaning, but vague compromises about ‘fighting protectionism’ and ‘doing everything to renew the economic growth’.

01/04/2009

Dutch News reported that finance minister Wouter Bos said that Leaders attending the G20 summit should use the opportunity to call on international bankers to moderate their bonus structure. The paper reports Bos expressing some concern over the likely outcome of the summit even though advances have been made over the past months. 'Internationally, a lot of time is needed to make progress,' the NRC quoted him as saying. 'We have to fill in the details, ensure broad support and then see if there is slow progress from a distance,' he said. The article goes on to report Bos saying that improvements have been made in terms of supervision of the financial sector. 'It is now clear that supervision must apply to the entire system,' the NRC reported the minister as saying. 'That there are no rule-free zones for hedge funds and private equity. That is an enormous advance.'

27/03/2009

During a TV interview Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende was asked if protectionism would be one of the important items of interest to the Dutch at the G20.  Balkenende said it was one of the priorities and the Dutch would also be interested in the other issues particularly the financial sector, developing countries and climate.

26/03/2009

Financieele Dagblad reports on an interview with Lord Malloch-Brown by European Journalists in which he emphasises that world trade is one of the most important issues that will be covered by the London Summit.

18/03/2009

NRC Handelsblad features a half page article by Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende and German Chancellor Angela Merkel saying the time is ripe for a new financial system that will lead to confidence and stability. Every crisis creates an opportunity for a new direction, they say, and the London Summit could be a milestone in tackling the crisis and an opportunity to make the world economy more balanced.

ANP Dutch press agency reports that the Chairman of VNO-NCW (the largest organisation representing entrepreneurs) has warned of protectionist measures by some countries to protect their own markets during the economic crisis.  Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende and Finance Minister Jan Kees de Jager have already spoken about the dangers of protectionism: 'Everyone for themselves is bad for all of us', said the Prime Minister.

15/03/2009

Volkskrant reported that the main result of the meeting of the G20 Finance Ministers at the weekend was more money for the IMF. Although no concrete measures to simulate the world economy were announced and the results could be described as a lot of talking but little actual decision-making, it seems there is optimism that there will be concrete results from the London Summit.

27/02/2009

Writing in Volkskrant in the run up to the informal EU summit at the weekend, Prime Minister Jan-Peter Balkenende said there were four essential choices:  first to create a 'moral' based economy, a social market economy; second, to resist protectionism; third, solidarity with poor countries and future generations; and fourth, sustainable public finances. He said the Dutch government would do everything to try to make the London Summit a success.

Netherlands

• London the starting point for a new global consensus - Prime Minister of the Netherlands