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You are here: Home Finance & Business Tax G20’s mammoth task as EU recession confirmed

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24/11/2008G20’s mammoth task as EU recession confirmed

Will the G20 be able to reach any agreement? Listen to economist Will Hutton, author and columnist for The Observer in London.

It's official: the euro zone is in recession. Figures released today show a 0.2 percent fall in growth in the zone as a whole for the second quarter in a row.
Against this background, the world's heavyweight economies are heading for the G20 summit in Washington this weekend to deal with the aftermath of the financial crisis. And the Netherlands will be punching above its weight. There is an extra seat at the table reserved for the Dutch.  
 
Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende, however, had to fly back from Washington even before the G20 began because his father had died. The Netherlands will be represented at the summit by Junior Finance Minister, Jan Kees de Jager.
It's being billed as the most historic financial summit since the Bretton Woods conference laid the foundations for the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund more than 60 years ago. Around the world, the effects of the financial crisis are taking their toll, as more and more countries slip into recession.

Photo Flickr by RogPoolSlump
Europe's largest economy, Germany, reported it was in recession this week, followed by Spain and Italy. France is teetering on the brink, with only 0.1 percent growth in the third quarter. In the Netherlands there was zero growth. The euro zone as a whole is in a slump. With this added pressure, all eyes are now on Washington, as the G20 countries meet to come up with a plan to prevent such a crisis from ever happening again.
The Netherlands is too small to be part of the G20. Its members are the big industrialised Western countries, the European Union, Russia, and the major new economies like China, Brazil and India. But two days before the summit was due to begin, word finally came from the Elysée Palace: Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende would also be allowed to join the meeting aimed at securing the world's financial stability. The invitation came personally from French President Nicolas Sarcozy, as France currently holds the EU presidency. And after all, it's only fitting. It was the Netherlands that took the lead in tackling the financial crisis in Europe.
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