Sep 17, 2009, 20:42 GMT
Brussels - The European Union will not push for a global tax on financial transactions at next week's Group of 20 (G20) summit in Pittsburgh, in the absence of an immediate agreement within the 27- member bloc.
Speaking after a meeting of EU leaders in Brussels, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that while 'many countries' supported such a tax, the idea would have to be explored further.
The so-called Tobin Tax, named for economist James Tobin, had been strongly backed by Germany and France. But it was greeted with some scepticism by Britain and Sweden, the current holder of the EU's rotating presidency.
'We've looked at this very carefully. The problem is this: if one or two countries refuse to adopt the common levy ... then it makes it very difficult to implement,' British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said in Brussels.
Asked about the French initiative, Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt said the matter had already been discussed for decades.
'The focus should be on (bankers') bonuses, financial supervision and transparency,' Reinfeldt said.
In articles appearing Thursday in French and British newspapers, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner had pushed for the tax as a means of raising billions of euros for the world's poorer countries.
Such a tax would be applied on a voluntary basis at a non- distorting rate of 0.005 per cent, Kouchner wrote in the Financial Times.
Discussions on a Tobin Tax took place on the margins of a meeting of EU leaders aimed at forging a common European position ahead of the G20 summit.
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