| The IMF membership quotas are to be re-examined
in early 2003, which could allow member countries to reconsider the representation
of the European Union. At present, the breakdown of constituencies dilutes Europe’s
voting power, despite efforts made to achieve coordination. Various scenarios
are possible. If the European countries are grouped together into a constituency,
then their vote would weigh very heavily, which is unlikely to be acceptable to
third countries. Bringing together eu members within a single seat would raise
a number of legal problems, but would have the advantage of reconciling both the
value of having a single seat and reducing the share of European quotas, thus
leaving more place to the developing countries. The size of the Union (12 to 25
countries) has a considerable impact on the calculations of the Union’s single
seat quotas and the implicit quotas of each member country. The political negotiations
which may more or less set aside quotas calculated on the basis of theoretical
formulae also affect the results. |
Abstract |
