LEADERS COMMENT ON GREECE, EURO AHEAD OF G20 SUMMIT

Opening meetings to discuss world economic issues during the B20 summit in Los Cabos, Mexico, began on Sunday, just as projections showed Greece's pro-bailout New Democracy party winning the national elections. "Policy makers now really have to focus on avoiding a downside risk which would be a major shock both to Europe and the global economy and which would lead to a very great slump, would cost millions of jobs more, and this is not about Europe, it's no longer a European issue. It is a systemic issue and it's already happening." said Miguel Angel Gurria, Secretary General of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. A vote against the pro-bail-out party could have forced Greece to leave the joint euro currency, a move that would have potentially catastrophic consequences for other ailing European nations and the global economy. Gurria addressed a B-20 meeting of world business leaders alongside World Bank President Robert Zoellick and Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Christine Lagarde. During the meeting, Lagarde said she was confident Spanish and European leaders would succeed in launching a bailout program for Spain's banking system. Spain requested a financing package from the European Union to stabilise its banking system which has been affected by the housing bubble. Meanwhile Jean Guy Carrier, Secretary General of the International Chamber of Commerce, said he hoped that, after elections in Greece, the country would remain in the Euro. "I think we are all hoping it's not going to aggravate the situation and that it will be an election which is part of a process that eventually sees Greece remaining within the Euro and is part of a very small step forward in arriving at some solution, overall," he said. The summit will last two days and will be dominated by the crisis in Europe. You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/43866b31ef78dcdc093ff2cffd3b5571 Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork