BERLIN (MNI) – The German government hopes that a decision on
increasing the International Monetary Fund’s financial resources will be
taken at the Group of 20 meeting this week in Washington, a senior
German finance ministry official said Tuesday.
“We hope and work intensively for being able to produce a number in
Washington,” the source said. The German government aims for an increase
in the IMF firewall to a size “similar” to that of the European
firewall, he explained.
EU finance ministers meeting in Copenhagen last month agreed to a
temporary increase in the lending capacity of the European firewall to
E700 billion.
“We believe that many of our international partners also understand
that we have to signal to the markets that Europe is not alone,” the
official said.
At the G20 meeting, Germany will oppose demands for any further
deficit spending to stimulate the economy, the source made clear.
“We will remind our partners on their commitment [made at the G20
meeting in] Toronto to halve deficits and stabilize debt levels,” he
said. “These will be important messages coming from Germany.”
–Berlin bureau: +49-30-22 62 05 80; email: twidder@marketnews.com
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