Facts

It seems that the disagreement between the U.S. and the Great Britain on one side and the remaining European countries on the other is stronger than was expected. This disagreement was clear when the U.S. and the Great Britain requested that the European countries adopt additional plans to stimulate the financial system. Moreover, the U.S. president placed blame on those countries that did not do their best to help the U.S. recover from the crisis, those that simply stood back and watched the U.S. In fact, he considered it the most severe offense.

On the other hand, the European countries, including those with the two largest economies, Germany and France, asserted that the plans they have already adopted are sufficient and that it is now necessary to wait in order to see their effects. Furthermore, they announced that it is necessary for the world to adopt measures to help maintain the international financial system, such as more supervision and transparency for institutions like banks, insurance companies, real estate finance companies and hedge funds without exception, as well as to discuss tax havens in countries where there is no supervision of the establishment and work of financial institutions.

Many announcements were made to try to soften the intensity of the disagreement. The most prominent announcement was the declaration by the U.S. president that there was no disagreement. He also confirmed that the economic and financial plans are necessary, in addition providing a new financial system characterized by discipline and transparency. But this alone is not sufficient.

It was also difficult to overlook the fact that an objective viewpoint was hard to come by. It is obvious that both the U.S. and the Great Britain are considered two of the most important financial centers in the world, or, better yet – they are actually the two most important financial centers in the world. Thus, the two countries do not want to monitor their financial institutions to the extent that could lead them to lose this impressive and useful rank, which serves their interests.

Finally, it is worth mentioning that the disagreement is more intense than ever: Just one day before the summit, a country as important as France announced that it might walk out of the G20 summit hosted by London if its demands to adopt more severe financial procedures were not satisfied. Furthermore, the French president declared that the financial and economic crisis, which the world is now witnessing, is so dangerous that the G20 Summit must not be concluded without some resolution.