Ioannis Kasoulides, on behalf of the PPE Group. – Mr President, my congratulations to Mr Saryusz-Wolski. In today’s interdependent world, global problems need global solutions. Global solutions are necessary for international security, political, economic, monetary and ecological stability, as well as for access to raw materials and rare earths.

The financial crisis in Europe had its origins outside the Union, but to put our house in order and avoid negative externalities, the cooperation of the rest of the world is necessary. It is for this reason that coordination between the EU and the United States, and their diplomatic understanding and cooperation with the BRICS, becomes very important.

We need to correct East-West monetary imbalances – the deficit in the West and the surplus and trillions of reserves in the East – by deciding on upper limits of deficit and surplus and by fighting protectionism. The cake is common worldwide. The West is the market of the East, while stability and prosperity in the East are necessary for the security and healthy economy of the West. In this framework, the contribution of the BRICS, and particularly of China, in a specific IMF special-purpose vehicle, would significantly increase IMF firepower and robustness in dealing with the sovereign debt crisis of the EU and tomorrow – who knows – of the United States. In parallel, Beijing’s request for a further upgraded institutional role in the IMF and free market status in the WTO, which will anyhow be attained by 2016, could be accommodated.