Sarkozy threatens G20 walkout over accounting standards

French president Nicolas Sarkozy has warned that he may storm out of today’s G20 summit unless agreement is reached on tighter financial regulations and a new framework of international accounting standards

Sarkozy is unlikely to accept any agreement that omits plans for tighter, more unified international accounting standards, regulation of bonuses paid to traders, a registry of hedge funds and sanctions against offshore tax havens, according to AFP.

He is expected to receive the backing of German chancellor Angela Merkel over his demands, but could face opposition from the UK and US. The president has a list of benchmarks to measure progress towards these aims and will not deem today’s summit a success unless some of them are reached.