Current event(news within the last 30 days) in Europe and provide a 1-2 paragraph summary about it - Essay Example

Ultimately, the European members of the G-20 were satisfied with the results of the meeting, including the French President and the German Finance Minister (Levitz, 2011). France, which currently stands as president of the G-20, hosted the meeting in Paris. Part of the results of the conference was the selection of economic indicators that the G-20 would use to monitor the health of the world economy. One of these indicators, the summit decided, would not be falling or rising exchange rates. Many believe this is because China exerted pressure, amidst criticism, on the other countries to remove this factor from consideration.

However, the broad consensus from other major economies is that China needs to allow their exchange rates to adjust in response to market forces. This compromise and pushback from G-20 members is a signal of what is to come in terms of Europe’s relationship to China and its economies. As the Chinese economy continues to grow, Europe faces the problem of dealing with that power in a way that is both fair to Chinese interests and equitable to European interests. Another economic indicator that came under consideration at the G-20 summit was the prices of commodities, which unlike exchange rates, will be used to monitor the health of the global economy. . Likewise, this may be due to growth in the Chinese economy, which is roughly four times larger than it was at the start of market reforms in 1978 (Sachs, 2011).

A point of interest brought up at the G-20 conference was the effect of global climate change on the food shortage, and the difficulties that such changes pose to creating a sustainable diet for the Earth’s population. The G-20 summit, of course, addressed turmoil in Egypt and Tunisia. With such political instability, the responsibility seems to fall on the most stable economies in the world, which primarily belong to the European countries, to help stabilize those countries. Like the American banking crisis, this process of reforming one part to bring the entire system back to health is one that will be played out on the global scale.

In many ways, food shortages and underdeveloped economies is what led to the political unrest in Egypt seen throughout the month of February that eventually led to the toppling of a dictatorial government. Thus, the issues that the G-20 addressed seem to be all connected in some way. Even though these problems came to the fore in Egypt, developed countries in the G-20 membership still suffer from high rates of unemployment and soaring commodity prices, as the G-20 members discussed. These decisions to help stabilize unstable economies in order to support the economic problems seen in Europe is one that will have tremendous, lasting consequences for the European nations and the G-20 membership.

Works Cited Levitz, D. (2011, February 19). G20 reaches compromise on economic indicators. Retrieved February 28, 2011, from Deutsche Welle: