The Indonesia or the Turkey may not be necessary

More than 20 heads o State and Go ernment try, tomorrow in Washington, lay the oundation or a new international inancial architecture and to a oid a depression in the world. A daunting task with di erent positions each (see below).

While de eloped countries will know their worst recession since the second world war, the heads o State will probably show their determination to reco er growth and speak the coordination o their macroeconomic policy. Reco ery plan, relaxation o monetary and relati e iscal laxity will be highlighted. Howe er, this meeting should not lead to concrete decisions on the plan o the international inancial architecture. Gi en the ormat o this meeting and its duration, no one is considering a total and complete system o erhaul as was the case at Bretton Woods in 1944. At Bercy, it was noted that the ambition is to "establish the oundations or a process o re orm." It is a starting point that will be ollowed, probably early next year, other international summits. Remains to determine precisely the ramework o uture meetings. Tomorrow, it will be a g-20 ormat (1). This does not preclude the presence o the Spain and the Netherlands, non-members o the group. The Indonesia or the Turkey may not be necessary. On the other hand, the countries o the Persian Gul , with the sole participation o Saudi Arabia, are under-represented. Probably need to rede ine the contours o an another g-20. At present, in addition to the cyclical situation, two other topics should be in the agenda o this meeting: regulation and organization o the international inancial sphere. World leaders will explore ways to make more e ecti e inancial regulation and to a oid that new bubbles are ormed. Similarly, will they discuss the case o hedge unds, o -balance sheet products, the ight against tax ha ens, new standards accounting and prudential, or inancial remuneration and super ision o rating agencies...

Discussions tight

Abo e all, they leaders on the role o the international monetary und (IM ), that Europeans want to enhance to gi e the pi otal role o monitoring in the uture architecture. The Prime Minister o Japan, Taro Aso, the country has the second reser es in the world, could announce that the Japan plans to lend up to 10 o the treasure to the und. This would increase to a coup in addition a third party resources. Sought by the British Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, China and Saudi Arabia, with signi icant reser es o oreign exchange, they also still did know their decision. It is true that inancial assistance rom these countries should go hand in hand with an increase o their role in the multilateral institution itsel . This re orm is barely underway and aces scepticism rom some. Starting with the United States, reluctant to see the und to meddle in their internal a airs. Discussions, this weekend, may there ore be tightened on the subject. But, as was indicated, yesterday in a speech in New York, the US President, the objecti e o the G20 Summit is not to abandon the principles o capitalism and ree enterprise the 'better system' to promote growth. or George Bush, it is o "the problems rather than dismantle a system that has impro ed the li es o hundreds o millions o beings human in the world." Nothing more.