Ceist:
35 Dr. Upton asked the Minister for Finance if he will report on the meeting of ECOFIN with Mr. Camdessus of the International Monetary Fund. [5570/98]
Written Answers - ECOFIN Meetings.
Ministers had an informal exchange of views, over lunch, at the ECOFIN meeting of 16 February 1998 with Mr. Camdessus, managing director of the IMF, on the financial crisis in Asia, its background and possible lessons to be drawn from it regarding the restructuring of the international financial system.
Discussions covered, inter alia, the need for a reform of banking supervision in certain regions as well as for a code of good conduct ensuring transparency and openness on economic and financial policies, the role of the private sector and the need to take into account social consequences of the programmes to deal with the crisis.
The discussion led to the Council to underpin the need for greater transparency, the importance of working on a code of conduct or of good practice as well as reform of banking surveillance, the will of the European Union to promote good governance, the reform of international financial institutions and the importance of ensuring that IMF programmes should not have negative social repercussions in the countries concerned.
The matters raised in the discussion with Mr. Camdessus were considered further at the G7/G8 meeting in London on 21-22 February 1998 and will be further discussed at the ASEM II Summit in London at the beginning of April as well as in the framework of the IMF Interim Committee.