New bricks for the Eurozone firewall. After the first day of meetings in Los Cabos, Mexico, where the G20 is underway, a first important news arrives: new funds pledged by member states to the International Monetary Fund rose to $456 billion, 26 billion more than the target set last April. The available funds thus rise to 380 billion, given the need to maintain a reserve. The director general of the Fund, Christine Lagarde, has it, explaining that the IMF's "capacity to make loans" has almost doubled.
Among the 37 countries that have contributed to increasing the resources of the Washington institution are India e Russia, with 10 billion each. The amount guaranteed by the China, which, however, should amount to 43 billion.
OBAMA CANCEL MEETING WITH EU LEADER
On the other hand, a negative signal comes from real politics, the one made up of movements and handshakes. The scheduled meeting between US President Barack Obama and the leaders of the European member countries has been cancelled. White House sources, however, say it could be held today.
The appointment was scheduled at the end of the dinner of the G20 Heads of State and Government, which however ended later than expected. However, many attribute the failure to meet the tensions between the heads of state and government of the two sides of the Atlantic in the light of the political stalemate on the solutions to be put in place to revive the Eurozone.
However, Obama yesterday met German Chancellor Angela Merkel in a bilateral summit. As sources from the German government report, the two leaders "have agreed on the need to take further steps towards the political integration of the Eurozone".
The Head of the White House said he was "encouraged" about the European situation and possible solutions.
EUROZONE: LESS AUSTERITY, MORE GROWTH AND JOBS
As for good intentions, the G20 countries will ask Europe to "lighten austerity policies given the worsening of the financial situation". This was revealed by US Treasury Undersecretary Lael Brainard.
Furthermore, as stated in the draft of the final communiqué of the summit, "in the event that the economic situation worsens further, the countries that have sufficient financial leeway are ready to coordinate and implement the appropriate fiscal measures to support demand internal".
In a context of renewed market tensions, the G20 member eurozone countries "will adopt all the necessary measures to safeguard the integrity and stability of the zone, improve the functioning of the financial markets and break the link between sovereign risks and banking".
Finally, a certainty about Greece: "It is and will remain in the Eurozone", but "it will have to respect the commitments undertaken" to restore its economic and financial situation.
