Miliband, too, supports Tobin tax, according to Kouchner
On the eve of the G20 meet in Pittsburgh on September 24-25, European ministers and heads of states come out in favor of a Tobin Tax "to fund development".
REUTERS reports from Paris, Sept 17:
French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner repeated his call for a tax on financial transactions to fund development despite a recent rejection of the idea by the finance ministry.
In an interview with business daily Les Echos on Thursday, Kouchner said his British counterpart David Miliband had offered support for the move at a meeting of the Leading Group on Innovative Financing for Development in Paris next month.
"The United Kingdom is ready to work with us on the principle of this international financial contribution from October in Paris, with the pilot group on innovative financing which includes 58 countries," he said.
Kouchner, an advocate of such a tax since his days as head of the aid group Medecins sans Frontieres, relaunched the idea at a conference in May but was immediately slapped down by Economy Minister Christine Lagarde.
He said he had since discussed the issue with Lagarde, who he said supported the idea in principle but was concerned about adding to an already crowded agenda at next week's meeting of leaders from the Group of 20 nations in Pittsburgh.
Kouchner said President Nicolas Sarkozy also supported the idea.
"He thinks that France must be heard and that the U.N. should launch the idea. He is cautious, like Christine Lagarde, about the timetable," Kouchner said, adding it was too early to table the idea at the United Nations general assembly next week.
He said a tax of 0.005 percent on financial transactions could bring in 20-30 billion euros ($29.37-44.05 billion) a year for development. ($1=.6810 Euro) (Writing by James Mackenzie, Editing by Dean Yates)
Source: www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSLH411580
The Brtish Foreign Office were unable to comment on the French reports on Kouchner's comments, wrote the London paper The Guardian, and continued:
Kouchner's comments follow agreement among the two main parties in Germany to lobby for a Tobin tax ahead of the G20 summit in Pittsburgh next week. The left-of-centre SPD unveiled plans last week for a global tax on foreign exchange and other financial trades to supplement proposals for a new tax on stockmarket trading.
German finance minister Peer Steinbrueck, a member of chancellor Angela Merkel's coalition government, accused banks of "binge-drinking" on capital markets. Merkel, with less enthusiasm, said she sympathised with the demands, though they were unlikely to gain much ground in discussions at the G20.
Source: www.guardian.co.uk/business/2009/sep/17/miliband-tobin-tax-french
Last modified
2009-09-19 12:11 AM
