MAJOR ISSUES AT THE G7 MEETING IN CANADA
EURO ZONE FISCAL CRISIS
European G7 countries told the US, Japan and Canada they would ensure Greece delivered on its promises to slash its budget deficit by the end of 2012.
FINANCIAL REGULATION
Last September, world leaders asked the IMF to come up with proposals for a levy on banks to help pay for financial rescues and in Canada this weekend ministers supported the idea.
RECOVERY EXIT STRATEGIES
The G7’s host, Canadian finance minister Jim Flaherty, said the global economy was recovering but was still too weak for governments to withdraw stimulus measures. In an apparent nod to concerns about huge budget deficits run by countries like the US to keep their economies going, he said governments were looking at scaling back their support and returning to fiscal health.
FUTURE OF THE G7
The G7 is expected to continue to meet as often as it deems necessary, and several officials said they liked the no-nonsense, informal format of the Iqaluit talks, which allowed them to speak their minds openly and freed them from long hours negotiating over the language of a communique.
HELPING HAITI
G7 countries are writing off debts owed to them by disaster-struck Haiti and urged global lenders to follow suit.