EU wants economic growth to be at the top of G20 agenda

In a joint letter sent Tuesday to the 28 EU leaders, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and European Council President Herman Van Rompuy reviewed the key issues coming up for discussions at the G20 summit in Saint Petersburg, Russia, September 5-6. The officials call on fellow G20 leaders to unite around a common goal to improve global confidence and to support the global recovery and find the way to strong, balanced, sustainable growth. On the main priorities of the summit, they stress that "growth and employment need to be at the top of the G20 agenda ... financial reform needs to be completed ... the work on tax avoidance and evasion need to be pushed forward, and ... the reform of the International Financial Architecture needs to be completed and progress be made with the work on development, anti-corruption and Energy." They underline EU action in these fields and set out their views on what the G20 should do to make progress in all of these areas. The European Union is a full member of the G20.