Updated :
Saturday June 16 , 2012 12:24:26 PM
When the world s most powerful leaders meet in Mexico next week, there will be no repeat of the global unity that helped quell the outbreak of the financial crisis.
Instead, at this year's Group of 20 summit new tensions between European leaders over the deepening euro zone crisis are likely to add to long-standing differences between rich and developing economies.
Only host Mexico has talked about the chance of major progress on tackling problems besetting the world economy, unlike the sense of urgency of recent years.
With the focus squarely on Europe's crisis, many G20 officials are pessimistic about the chances of progress on issues such as preventing the kind of banking problems that triggered the financial crisis or giving more voice at the International Monetary Fund to new heavyweights such as China.
On Friday, a rare fight broke out between Germany and France which traditionally maintain a united front as the euro zone's most powerful countries. German Chancellor Angela Merkel criticized France's economic performance, a swipe at Socialist President Francois Hollande who has called for more emphasis on economic growth and less on budget austerity.
"We will somehow get through it," said one senior G20 aide. "But it's a disaster - the summit will achieve nothing."
Leaders will kick off two days of meetings in the Pacific resort of Los Cabos - best known for whale-watching and sport fishing - on Monday, just hours after results are expected from Sunday's elections in Greece which may determine the country's chances of staying in the euro zone.
European leaders will come under pressure to show they can stop the risk of a Greek exit from threatening other bigger economies in the single currency area, such as Spain and Italy. They will also be pressed to show they can advance in fixing the fundamental problems that have dogged the single currency.
"We are determined to show the world that the euro and the European project are irreversible," said European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso in a statement.
The European Union holds its own leaders' summit at the end of this month to discuss a timetable for potentially sweeping reforms that could create a fiscal union in Europe.
When the world s most powerful leaders meet in Mexico next week, there will be no repeat of the global unity that helped quell the outbreak of the financial crisis.
Instead, at this year's Group of 20 summit new tensions between European leaders over the deepening euro zone crisis are likely to add to long-standing differences between rich and developing economies.
Only host Mexico has talked about the chance of major progress on tackling problems besetting the world economy, unlike the sense of urgency of recent years.
With the focus squarely on Europe's crisis, many G20 officials are pessimistic about the chances of progress on issues such as preventing the kind of banking problems that triggered the financial crisis or giving more voice at the International Monetary Fund to new heavyweights such as China.
On Friday, a rare fight broke out between Germany and France which traditionally maintain a united front as the euro zone's most powerful countries. German Chancellor Angela Merkel criticized France's economic performance, a swipe at Socialist President Francois Hollande who has called for more emphasis on economic growth and less on budget austerity.
"We will somehow get through it," said one senior G20 aide. "But it's a disaster - the summit will achieve nothing."
Leaders will kick off two days of meetings in the Pacific resort of Los Cabos - best known for whale-watching and sport fishing - on Monday, just hours after results are expected from Sunday's elections in Greece which may determine the country's chances of staying in the euro zone.
European leaders will come under pressure to show they can stop the risk of a Greek exit from threatening other bigger economies in the single currency area, such as Spain and Italy. They will also be pressed to show they can advance in fixing the fundamental problems that have dogged the single currency.
"We are determined to show the world that the euro and the European project are irreversible," said European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso in a statement.
The European Union holds its own leaders' summit at the end of this month to discuss a timetable for potentially sweeping reforms that could create a fiscal union in Europe.
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