November 11, 2008

After playing a key role in responding to the global banking crisis, European leaders head to Washington for a big global financial summit later this week with newfound confidence in their dealings with the United States, a vague set of principles and only a few specific reforms in their briefcases.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who has publicly criticized U.S. officials for financial decisions such as letting Lehman Brothers fail, hopes the summit will secure his legacy as an influential player on the world stage before France hands off the rotating European Union presidency to the Czech Republic in January.
Last week, he called for a follow-up to the two-day Washington summit, which begins Friday, within 100 days. But experts say reform of global financial regulation will be neither quick nor easy due to the complexity of the issues, the number of global players with a stake in the process, and the change of administrations in Washington. President-elect Obama has said he won't attend.