EU wants bigger role in financial rescue

Europe is pushing for a greater role in any rescue plan for the world economy. As politicians grapple with capitalism’s problems, the EU Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said Europe’s financial record demands a higher profile:

“It is good that some of the most important economies in Europe are represented here, but it is important also that the European Union is represented in this global institution.”

Barroso hopes the EU will play a more active role in the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. But critics, including analyst Karel Lannoo, say Europe has also made mistakes:

“Europe should not have gone to a G-20 meeting without having put its own house in order. So I expect many of the developing countries which are part of the G-20 are going to say to Europe and United States: ‘Put your own house in order first before we will sign up to anything.’”

The Washington summit winds up this evening with a live press conference on how leaders plan to rescue the world from financial ruin.

You can watch it live on euronews.

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