G20 urged to open its doors to democratically-elected representatives

"The G20 cannot obtain greater legitimacy unless it opens its doors to democratically elected representatives", said EP Vice-President Othmar Karas at Monday's opening of the "G20: an accountable agenda?" conference in the European Parliament. MEPs and experts discussed the G20's prospects ahead of its 18-19 June summit in Los Cabos, Mexico.

Whilst praising the role played by the G20 since the outbreak of the economic and financial crisis, Mr Karas and other MEPs observed that the forum "still suffers from an apparent lack of legitimacy" and should be given "a genuine democratic dimension".

Various MEPs and outside experts also stressed that the G20's role and legitimacy also depend on the extent to which it connects with the IMF and other institutions.

Mexico's ambassador to the EU, and representatives of the European Commission, the European External Action Service, the OECD, the Centre for European Policy Studies and Harvard University took part in the debate with MEPs.