Europe Faces Firewall Pressure as G-20 Debates IMF Crisis Role

By Alan Crawford and Sandrine Rastello

Feb. 24 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S., Chinese and Japanese officials say they will press euro-area countries to do more to merit outside help when the world’s largest economies gather tomorrow for a meeting dominated by Europe’s sovereign-debt woes just days after Greece secured a second bailout.

European officials will push other Group of 20 nations to commit fresh cash to the International Monetary Fund to help defuse the region’s fiscal crisis, while the Obama administration says Europe now must first strengthen its firewall to prevent debts of countries such as Italy and Portugal from becoming unsustainable.

G-20 finance ministers and central bank governors meet in Mexico City four days after the European Union sanctioned a 130 billion-euro ($170 billion) rescue for Greece and amid warnings by the IMF that concerns about debt sustainability could drag the world into another recession. While China, Japan, Brazil and the Mexican hosts say they are willing to help once Europe acts, the U.S. shows no signs of reaching for its checkbook.

Read more: http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-02-24/europe-faces-firewall-pressure-as-g-20-debates-imf-crisis-role.html