which weighs heavily in the British economy

Peer Steinbrück, German Finance Minister known for his outspoken took yesterday to the British Government it accuses of wanting to stop new stricter rules for regulation of financial markets. At a conference organised by the DGB Trade Union Centre, the Social Democrat Minister has expressed concern to see, "among the representatives of the City of London and the British Government, a great reluctance with regard to regulatory measures". He deplored the fact that some voices to "claim the return to the situation of before crisis.

According to Peer Steinbrück, the British have blocked, two weeks ago in Brussels, at the last European Council, of new safeguards proposed by the Germany and the France. The City, which weighs heavily in the British economy, seek it to preserve its competitive advantage over other financial markets. Already Tuesday, the economy Minister, Christine Lagarde, had it, overlap some foreign banks "do not play the game" in framework for the compensation of traders, which penalizes that French banks. "But I know have checked it with French banks that some foreign banks are not the game, and in particular banks based in London or New York to absolve happily of principles declared by one or the other and continue to work as before", was noted during a hearing before the commission of the laws of the Assembly.

A few days of the G8

Monday, Chancellor Merkel, by presenting the electoral program of the CDU and its Bavarian ally the CSU, it also attacked "some banks", calling for the return to the old order. It considers necessary for new rules to avoid a crisis of this magnitude never happens again and critical trough the anglo-saxon model of regulation, believing that, "if our social market economy had prevailed everywhere in the world, this crisis have not broken".

Yesterday, Peer Steinbrück has, on the other hand, praised the efforts made by the US administration. According to him, the United States wants to restore confidence in their financial markets, with colossal needs capital. The statements made by Peer Steinbrück speakers a few days before the Summit of the G8 in Italy and three months before the next g-20, to be held in Pittsburg. The Minister, who has for another horse to battle the fight against tax havens, a habit not to chew his words. His threats to the Switzerland, a few months ago, caused serious tensions between Berne and Berlin.

Peer Steinbrück, in his speech, also criticized the German conservatives projects to put the current authority of supervision of the financial sector, the BaFin, under the umbrella of the Bundesbank, the Central Bank. At the present time, the two institutions share the control of the banks: "the quality of supervision in Germany is as high as in all other countries European and better than in the United States," he said.

Support to Jörg Asmussen

Peer Steinbrück has understood that he maintained his full support to his Secretary of State, Jörg Asmussen, at the centre of a controversy: he would have had knowledge, from the beginning of 2008, the errors of the HRE Bank, since State-owned monopoly, both its losses were abysmal. Jörg Asmussen is one of the architects of the bailout of the financial sector and participates in the drafting of the German positions in international meetings of the G8 - G20 type.