The European Union supports the G20’s roadmap for enhancing cross-border payments, Mihaly Varga, the finance minister, told public broadcaster Kossuth Radio on Friday.
Varga addressed a two-day meeting of G20 finance ministers and central bank governors in Rio de Janeiro on behalf of the EU.
The G20 countries must remain committed to international financial reforms, in which the EU is also a partner, Kossuth Radio quoted Varga as saying in his address.
The minister said the EU needed to do more in the interest of reducing vulnerabilities in the financial sector, which was why it supported the G20’s targets in making cross-border payments faster, more affordable, more accessible, more transparent and convenient.
He said it was important that the European financial system remain in the global competition deciding incomes and job opportunities.
Varga noted that one of the priorities of Hungary’s presidency of the Council of the EU was to improve the bloc’s competitiveness.
He said that despite efforts to maintain confidence, there remained vulnerabilities in the European financial systems.
The minister said high interest rates, uncertainties caused by the war, and concerns over budgetary sustainability meant it was important to continue to monitor the risks facing the financial sector, adding that this was also a priority during the Hungarian EU presidency.
Participants at the G20 meeting also discussed a new way to manage global debt.
Varga said Hungary, on behalf of the EU, had joined the G20 position that the international debt management framework should be implemented in a better and more predictable way.
On the sidelines of the meeting, Varga met the governor of Brazil’s central bank with whom he reviewed the status of bilateral economic and trade relations.
