European Union presses IMF to consider Tobin tax

Telegraph | December 11, 2009

In a draft statement expected to be approved on the second day of an EU summit, the bloc's leaders also underlined the need for "sound and effective" financial sector pay but did not specifically back British calls to tax bankers' bonuses heavily.

The leaders were also discussing on the final day of the summit how much money to give developing countries in the next three years to help them fight the effects of global warming.

"The European Council (of EU leaders) emphasises the importance of renewing the economic and social contract between financial institutions and the society they serve and of ensuring that the public benefits in good times and is protected from risk," they said in a draft statement obtained by Reuters.

"The European Council encourages the IMF to consider the full range of options including insurance fees, resolution funds, contingent capital arrangements and a global financial transaction levy in its review."

The IMF is considering how to limit risk in the financial system following the economic crisis.

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