All countries in the Group of 20 must work together towards concerted financial reform - even those that have not been hit by banking crises - German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Thursday, in remarks seemingly aimed at Canada, DPA reported.
"My plea for the G20 is, even if your countries have not been affected by specific tendencies of the financial markets, the task is to bring forward the process as a whole," Merkel said, speaking at the opening of a key financial reform conference in Berlin.
The comments were a clear reference to both Canada and some emerging economies within the group, who have balked at introducing as strict financial reforms as advocated in Berlin.
Canada will host a G20 and a G8 summit in June, and has so far rejected calls to introduce a so-called Financial Transaction Tax, as advocated by Germany and France.
"This has been rather frustrating. We need to send a joint signal in moments of crisis," Merkel said.
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