Leaders of the world’s most powerful emerging economies have threatened to withhold additional financing requested by the International Monetary Fund to fight the European sovereign debt crisis unless they gain greater voting power at the Fund.
Meeting in India yesterday, the heads of state from Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa expressed their frustration at the slow pace of reform at the Washington-based multilateral lender, historically dominated by Europe and the US. In a joint statement, the so-called Brics nations said that there was an urgent need to “better reflect economic weights” and to “enhance the voice and representation of emerging market and developing countries” at the IMF.
The Fund’s shareholders agreed in 2010 to shift more of its voting weight towards emerging market nations. However, the US has not passed enabling legislation.