Europe was clearly the focus at the G20 Summit that concluded in Los Cabos, Mexico, on Tuesday, 19 June.  Addressing a press conference after the summit, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said, "From my point of view I have once again underlined that we need more Europe, a deepening of our cooperation, because the markets expect that we move closer together. I also underlined that with more Europe the balance between control and accountability, which belong together, must be maintained."

The European members of G20 said they are determined to take ambitious steps towards deeper integration in solving the crisis. European leaders are expected to lay out their specific plans during the EU’s upcoming summit from 28 – 29 June. In her remarks to the press, Merkel said, "We made clear that the euro zone is certainly something unique in the world and cannot simply be compared to a nation-state, and that this is why it has to follow a historical evolution.  I take back with me the impression from Los Cabos that the international community would like us Europeans to succeed in this task.

Enlarge image German Chancellor Angela Merkel prior to the G20 Summit of Heads of State and Government in Mexico (© picture alliance / abaca) "From the European Union’s side, we argued in very uniform and common fashion here that we are resolved to solve the crisis, and will do so through a mix of fiscal consolidation, growth initiatives, and deepening of European cooperation," the Chancellor emphasised.

International Monetary Fund (IMF) chief Christine Lagarde said that Europe's leaders had demonstrated their readiness to do whatever was necessary to shore up the stability of their currency union. The IMF has played a key role in the European debt crisis, contributing funds to the bailouts of Greece, Ireland and Portugal.

The leaders of BRICS nations – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – declared that they "agreed to enhance their own contributions to the IMF", but insisted that the money be used only after existing funds were depleted. Brazil, Russia and India each pledged 10 billion US dollars, while South Africa offered two billion. G20 host Mexico also contributed 10 billion US dollars. 

This has nearly doubled IMF’s lending capacity to help protect countries from the fallout of the euro zone debt crisis. Chancellor Merkel welcomed this contribution from the emerging nations and countries such as China and Japan as a “truly global effort” and evidence of the camaraderie with which the summit was conducted.