German Chancellor Angela Merkel called Tuesday for early reforms of world financial markets as she met with a panel of German experts who have been appointed to draw up proposals, according to dpa. "Time is of the essence," said Merkel in Berlin, saying she wanted to take details with her to the G20 summit in Washington on November 15. The proposals would then become part of a brief for negotiations among experts of the G20 nations. Germany vainly campaigned last year for checks on banks, hedge funds and rating agencies, but was opposed at the time by Britain and the United States. The global financial crisis has put the issue back on the agenda. Finance Minister Peer Steinbrueck, who unveiled an eight-point plan last month, said there had never been greater urgency to regulate the financial markets. "Germany began this debate very early and that gives us a certain credibility," he said. The panel of German experts has been been tasked with returning a a first report to the German government on November 13. The panel on the "new financial architecture" is chaired by Otmar Issing, a former chief economist of the European Central Bank (ECB). Merkel has called for the International Monetary Fund to take on a bigger rule-setting role in preventing any repeat of the current crisis. She has also called for greater transparency and a reduction in the incentives to make risky investments. Issing said the panel would not be assessing the current management of the crisis, but it would be analyzing what caused the crisis in the first place and what could be done to steer the system back onto a solid foundation. Their report will not yet be ready when European Union finance and economy ministers meet on November 4 and EU leaders hold a summit November 7.
