Meeting of the European members of the G20 group in Berlin

Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolánek, in his capacity as President of the European Council, attended the meeting of the European members of the G20 group, called to Berlin by German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Besides Great Britain, which presides over the G20 group and will host its summit on 2 April in London, the meeting also comprised representatives of France, Italy, Spain and the Netherlands, Luxembourg, for other Eurozone countries, as well as representatives of the European Commission and the European Central Bank.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel stated that the meeting outlined some recommendations that may become the foundations of a common procedure to combat the financial crisis: in particular a stricter supervision of the International Monetary Fund, more thorough regulation of the financial markets, incl. the “tax havens”, and unification of procedures for international rating agencies.

President of the European Council Mirek Topolánek emphasised that the EU Member States must seek consensus on common principles to face the effects of the financial crisis, and, above all, to restore the trust in the common market. According to Topolánek, any expressions of protectionism may disrupt the integrity of the European market and cause further damage. This goal will be the main topic of the informal summit of the European Union convened by the Czech Presidency that will be held in Brussels on 1 March.

In addition to the above meeting, the Czech Prime Minister held bilateral talks with Angela Merkel and the President of the European Central Bank, Jean-Claude Trichet. He also spoke with French President Nicolas Sarkozy during the work lunch; however, their planned meeting was postponed due to the extended G20 meeting and will be held on 1 March in Brussels.