Joint article by President of the Council Berlusconi and British Prime Minister Brown
Taken from the British Prime Minister’s Office website
19 February 2009
We are in the midst of a global financial and economic crisis which threatens the jobs and prospects of families in every country and on every continent. Across the world action has been taken at a national level, but we can do even more together, internationally.
So the need for global dialogue and co-ordinated action, which was also the aim of the decisions we made in the European Union at the end of 2008, has never been greater. Both the London Summit of G20 leaders and the Italian Presidency of the G8 at the La Maddalena Summit will bring together the leaders of the world’s major economies and global economic institutions to address the crisis.
The London Summit, and the Washington Summit late last year, are a response to the unfolding financial and economic crisis that is affecting all economies and all countries across the world. At the London Summit, countries will come together to enhance global coordination and help restore global economic growth. World leaders must make three commitments:
· First, to take whatever action is necessary to restore confidence, stabilise financial markets and enable families and business to get through the global recession
· Second, to reform and strengthen the global financial and economic system to ensure such a crisis cannot occur again
· Third, to put the global economy on track for sustainable low-carbon growth
We cannot allow this crisis to start a retreat from globalisation. Protectionist measures reduce worldwide growth, deny us the benefits of global trade and confine millions to poverty. Our aim must be an international financial and economic system for the twenty first century that recognises the new realities, building on common standards and principles which already exist, a system based on open not sheltered economies, international not national capital markets, and global not local competition.
We must look at both the levels and the scope of supervision and regulation. When capital flows are global but regulators only national and regional, we must now agree a new era of co-operation and co-ordination between countries so that we have common ethical and legal principles and new rules for a world of global capital flows. At the London Summit we should seek to agree a Charter of Principles for financial regulation and supervision. La Maddalena G8 Summit will be the occasion to go even further, adopting an agreed set of common principles and standards on propriety, integrity and transparency of international economic and financial activity, as recently discussed by G7/G8 Finance Ministers.
Through all of this we need to use both the London and La Maddalena Summits to protect the poorest in this global recession and to make sure that the actions we take to secure economic recovery are consistent with our shared aspirations for a low-carbon future and sustainable growth. Therefore, crucial discussions at the London and La Maddalena summits will also focus on the challenges of development, climate change and energy, and how to relaunch global sustainable growth.
This current crisis affects us all and it is vital that we act together to find solutions and take the actions necessary. To be effective, recovery requires not just co-ordinated governmental interventions, but also the full contribution of the private sector. The summits must restore confidence and give a strong international signal for banks to continue lending to allow firms to invest in the future.
To do so, we need to involve the main emerging economies: the G20 process begun in Washington involves them fully, and the Italian Presidency wants to strengthen the dialogue already started by the G8 with Brazil, China, India, Mexico and South Africa, involving them in a stable and structured partnership. Italy would also like to involve a Muslim, Arab and African country such as Egypt. And both the UK and Italian Governments are committed to strengthening our engagement with African leaders and others, and with civil society at home and internationally.
It is only by working together, by showing the accountable leadership and co-ordination that the world so badly needs, we can find the best solutions to these current problems. We are certain that we will.
Gordon Brown Silvio Berlusconi
