The Outlines of the G-20 Deal Emerge, And They’re Not Good

Ted Bromund / March 19, 2009

In the run-up to the G-20 summit in London on April 2, a curious division has emerged. On one side stand the U.S. and Britain, both sounding like continental Europeans in their enthusiasm for deficit spending. On the other stand France and Germany, rejecting stimulus packages but eager to impose a new system of “global governance” on the world’s markets and nations.

As Sally McNamara has noted, Britain’s stance is a problem for the EU, which, as always, is seeking to use the global financial crisis to advance its aim of pulling Britain deeper into the EU and so weakening the transatlantic alliance. And Britain’s position is not strong: its banking system is in desperate shape, and Prime Minister Gordon Brown has staked his remaining credibility on making a success of the summit.

It’s in this light that we should interpret the remarks of Jose Manuel Barroso, the head of the European Commission, after his meeting with Brown on Monday. Predictably, Barroso demanded that “Europe must speak with one voice in London.” (more…)