BRDO PRI KRANJU, Slovenia (Thomson Financial) - European Union finance ministers endorsed plans to give emerging economies and developing countries more say at the International Monetary Fund, said Slovenian Finance Minister Andrej Bajuk, whose country holds the rotating EU presidency.
'This will mean an important shift in terms of the representation of dynamic economies, many of which are emerging countries,' Bajuk told a news conference at the end of a two-day meeting of finance ministers and central bank governors.
'The EU member states are committed to achieving a result that will improve the legitimacy of the IMF through fair representation,' he said.
The IMF's members are currently considering measures to boost the voting rights of emerging countries if they are ratified at the Fund's spring meeting in Washington on April 12.
Developing nations have pushed for more say in how the IMF is run. Its management is dominated by powerful industrial nations that also rank among its biggest financial supporters.
The proposals call for developed countries to give up a small fraction of their voting rights -- equivalent to 1.6 percentage points -- to the benefit of emerging and developing countries.
'EU members are fully committed to reach an outcome that enhances the legitimacy of the IMF by ensuring a fair and adequate representation for all members,' the ministers said in a statement. steve.whitehouse@thomson.com sw COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Financial News Limited 2008. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Thomson Financial News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Financial News.