G-20 major economies
The G20 ( abbreviation for group of twenty major industrial and emerging countries) has been founded in 1999 informal group of 19 countries and the European Union. It is intended as a forum for cooperation and consultation on matters of international financial system.
At the meeting of the G20 take the leaders of the G20 countries, the finance ministers and central bank governors of the G8 and eleven other states, including the O -5, as well as the EU Presidency (if not performed at this time of a G8 country is ), the President of the European Central Bank, the Managing Director (Managing Director) of the International Monetary Fund, the chairman of the International Monetary and financial Committee ( IMFC), the President of the world Bank and the Chairman of the Development Committee of world Bank and International Monetary Fund.
Economic importance, members
In the G20 directly or indirectly the States represented two thirds of the world's population account for about 90 percent of global gross domestic product (GDP) and are responsible for 80 percent of world trade. The force generated by the combined European representation uniform regional and cultural distribution of the members of the G20 gives additional legitimacy.
History
In reaction to the Asian crisis, also known as Willard Group group of 22 was adopted at the summit of the APEC countries in November 1997 in Vancouver (Canada) at the initiative of the then U.S. President Bill Clinton. Compared to today's G20 Hong Kong, Malaysia, Poland, Singapore and Thailand were represented at the G -22 countries, in addition, it lacked the European Union, Turkey and Saudi Arabia. In April 1998, the first meeting of the G -22 in Washington took place.
In 1999, the group was expanded briefly to the G33, which had two meetings in March and April 1999. Already in September 1999 but was launched at the meeting of the G8, the G20 finance ministers as a substitute to life. The first meeting was held in Berlin in December 1999.
Meetings
Criticism
The legitimacy is sometimes called into question; the G20 bypasses the international organizations of the UN, which is sometimes referred to by critics as a return to the law of the jungle. Also, the fact that the decisions of the G20 are not legally binding, is criticized in some quarters.
Switzerland and the G20
Although the G20 is concerned with questions of the international financial system, Switzerland, one of the most important financial centers in the world, was not included in the G20. Even after the size of the economies in terms of GDP, Switzerland would belong to the G20, but the GDP of Switzerland is larger than that of South Africa and Argentina. To take this into account, the French president Nicolas Sarkozy has invited in November 2010, Switzerland for work preparatory to the Summit in November 2011 in Cannes, France. For the preparations for the G20 summit of 2013 wants Russia, which then holds the presidency, using the know -how of Switzerland in financial matters. This agreed, the foreign ministers of the two countries on 25 October 2012 in Moscow.
Since the G20 increasingly determines the agenda of world politics, the Swiss Federal Council ( government ) is trying to become a permanent resident of the G20. About a possible invitation shall be determined from the country holding the Presidency of the G20. 2014 and 2015, Australia this is Turkey. 2016 may handle the People's Republic of China to the G20 Presidency.
Monitoring of politicians
According to documents that have been passed down from Edward Snowden to the Guardian, the British Government Communications Headquarters ( GCHQ ) at the G20 meeting in London in 2009 have systematically spied and listened to politicians of other nations and plan this for future G20 and G7 meetings. Among other things, mobile phone connections, emails and computers have been spied on by keyloggers data partly after the G20 summit later gained further and passed to British politicians. Participants were lured to this end, inter alia, free Internet cafes.