Financial Markets

The world is in the midst of a serious financial and economic crisis. The impact of the crisis, in which a strongly export-oriented German industry is suffering to a marked extent.

The major challenges of the period after the crisis call for international cooperation and consultation. Unilateral national initiatives are not the right answer, protectionist tendencies must be cut off at an early stage.

In order to restore economic growth and jobs on a sustainable basis, BDI is committed to an intelligent international regulatory framework. BDI broadly supports the proposals that came out of the preparatory summit of the European G20 countries held on 22 February 2009 whereby Europe will use the G20 summit on 2 April 2009 in London to push for a worldwide regulatory framework for global financial markets, to promote freedom of trade and investment around the world, to combat climate change at global level and to draw up a “charter for sustainable business” in the areas of business, finance and social affairs.

The charter could serve for creation of a framework at international level leading to greater transparency on financial markets, to a strengthening of market forces and to common principles for sustainable behaviour. Establishment of a common regulatory framework is welcome if at the same time companies and markets are protected from undue state intervention. An instrument for implementing this charter could be the German Chancellor’s proposal for networking national governments and international organisations institutionally in a “world economic council”. However, further details have not yet been decided.