President Barroso and President Van Rompuy state after the conclusion of the summit meeting of the G20 in Toronto between June 26th and 27th, that this meeting has proven to be what it said it would be: the premier forum for international economic cooperation. Leaders meeting in Toronto have agreed on the next steps to take in order to ensure a full return to growth with quality jobs, to reform and strengthen financial systems, and to create strong, sustainable and balanced global growth.

The European Union came to Toronto with a set of three priorities focusing on fiscal consolidation and stimulus, action for financial repair and reform and strengthening the quality of bank capital and liquidity. In the opinion of Presidents Barroso and Van Rompuy, the EU came to Toronto with a clear agenda, ans the Summit's result reflects widespread convergence around Europe's approach.

World leaders have kept the momentum for global coordination on economic matters, delivering on a number of Pittsburgh commitments and setting the agenda for Seoul. The G20 Summit held in Toronto in June 2010, as its fourth time, concluded that the efforts made so far have borne good results. Unprecedented and globally coordinated fiscal and monetary stimulus is playing a major role in helping to restore private demand and lending. The main economies meeting in the G20 are taking strong steps toward increasing the stability and strength of their financial systems.

On financial sector reform, the EU has worked hard ahead of the Summit to maintain the momentum. In Toronto, the G20 has responded with determination to keep the pace for making the financial sector more resilient to crises and risk. The agreed timeframe for reform was confirmed.

The EU came to Toronto with a European decision that Member States would introduce systems of levies and taxes on financial institutions, and now welcomes that partners agreed to make the financial sector participate in the costs of repair, resolution and prevention and recognized the bank levy as a useful instrument. The EU's decision to work on the stability of Europen banking system through disclosure of banks' positions (stress tests), was welcomed by all.

The EU made a forceful plea for G20 leaders to give new impulse for the Doha Development Agenda and to engage seriously between Toronto and Seoul, where a final deal should be achieved. "Trade is the most tax friendly and consumer friendly tool to generate growth. We must make use of it", President Barroso pointed out.
 

Facing challenges: for a balanced growth strategy

But serious challenges remain. While growth is returning, the recovery is uneven and fragile, unemployment in many countries remains at unacceptable levels, and as it has recently been highlighted by the Eurobarometer in the EU, the social impact of the crisis is still widely felt, as it has been the case worldwide.

Strengthening the recovery is key. To sustain recovery, World needs to follow through on delivering existing stimulus plans, while working to create the conditions for robust private demand.

The G20 agreed on the need to take concerted actions to sustain the recovery, create jobs and to achieve stronger, more sustainable and more balanced growth, actions which will be differentiated and tailored to national circumstances. Main agreements were made to:

• Follow through on fiscal stimulus and communicating “growth friendly” fiscal consolidation plans in advanced countries that will be implemented going forward. Sound fiscal finances are essential to sustain recovery, provide flexibility to respond to new shocks, ensure the capacity to meet the challenges of aging populations, and avoid leaving future generations with a legacy of deficits and debt. Advanced economies have committed to fiscal plans that will at least halve deficits by 2013 and stabilize or reduce government debt-to-GDP ratios by 2016. Fiscal consolidation plans will be credible, clearly communicated, differentiated to national circumstances, and focused on measures to foster economic growth.
• Strengthening social safety nets, enhancing corporate governance reform, financial market development, infrastructure spending, and greater exchange rate flexibility in some emerging markets.
• Pursuing structural reforms across the entire G-20 membership to increase and sustain our growth prospects.
• Making more progress on rebalancing global demand.

The G20 took new steps to build a better regulated and more resilient financial system that serves the needs of citizens, being also a pressing need to complete the reforms of the international financial institutions.

G20 will meet next in Seoul, Korea, on November 11-12, 2010, and then will convene in November 2011 under the Chairmanship of France and in 2012 under the Chairmanship of Mexico.