Leaders of six of the largest members of the European Union have agreed on a common position on a range of issues that are likely to come up at the London Summit in London in April. The joint agreement will be seen a key milestone on the road towards the 2 April London Summit ahead of the meeting of all 27 EU heads of state on Sunday 1 March.

After the meeting of the leaders of UK, France, Italy, Spain and the Netherlands, in Berlin on 22 February, Chancellor Angela Merkel, issued a 'chair's summary' of the meeting. 

 

 

The main points of agreement were:

• all financial markets, products and participants must be subject to appropriate oversight or regulation including ‘private pools of capital… and hedge funds’;
• credit rating agencies should be subject to mandatory registration and oversight;
• reforms to ensure that banks build additional buffers of resources in good times;
• the development of an effective early warning system by the International Monetary Fund and Financial Stability Forum;
• the development of an effective early warning system by the IMF and FSF; and
• enlargement of the FSF to include emerging market economies and be implemented swiftly ‘in good time’ before the London Summit.

Global leaders endorsed the agreement as a major achievement towards the successful outcome of the London Summit. Gordon Brown said: 'We are resolved that global problems need global solutions. And we will work together over these next few weeks to make sure that by our co-operation and our determination to act together we can not only inject the confidence that is necessary in the world economy but also build anew the economic activity that is necessary for the jobs, for the security that the people of the world want.'

French President Nicolas Sarkozy told reporters after the talks: 'We all agree now that in London, Europe wants to see an overhaul of the system. We all want London to be a success and we are all aware that it's our last chance. We cannot afford a failure in London. We're not talking about superficial measures. We're talking about structural measures that need to be taken.'Europe will own up to its responsibility in the world,' Merkel told reporters following the talks.

Leaders of G20 countries face a busy schedule of meetings in the run-up to the London summit. The Heiligendamm Steering Committee composed of Sherpas (the heads of state personal representatives) and Vice Ministers from the G8 plus Brazil, China, India, South Africa and Mexico and the European Commission meets on 23 and 24 February.

On 1 March the 27 leaders of the EU member states meet in Brussels for an informal summit called by European Council President Mirek Topolánek, the prime minister of the Czech Republic 'to ensure coordination and solidarity within the EU in tackling the crisis. The outcome will be a vital contribution to preparing the ground for the Spring European Council on 19 and 20 March 2009 in Brussels – just 13 days before the London Summit.

Gordon Brown will travel to the United States next week to discuss the world economy with President Obama at a meeting on 3 March and will be able to present the unified EU position. The two leaders’ spokesman said they would discuss 'common global challenges' including the world financial crisis.