■ Yes! Launched in 1999 when finance ministers met in response to the financial crises of the 1990s (South-East Asia, Russia, etc.), the G20 is a forum for international economic cooperation and coordination made up of the industrialized countries (G8) and the leading emerging countries. Together, they represent 85% of global wealth and two-thirds of the world’s population.
■ Since the start of the crisis, the G20 has led the way as THE new global economic cooperation forum:
■ In November 2008, at the French President’s initiative, the G20 met for the first time at the level of the Heads of State and Government to seek a concerted, coordinated response to the most serious economic crisis the world had seen since the 1930s.
■ This strategy has paid off! From the Washington Summit (November 2008) to the Seoul Summit (November 2010), we have laid the foundations for a new world economic and financial order: supervision of bonuses, sanctions against tax havens, regulation of hedge funds and rating agencies, tripling of capital requirements for banks, etc. These significant steps have given financial capitalism a moral grounding worldwide!
■ This movement now needs to keep driving forward. If the G20 wants to remain legitimate, it cannot merely implement decisions made by previous summits. It must address new issues vital to world stability and prosperity. This is precisely what France has proposed to its partners with its ambitious agenda for its presidency in 2011.
