Emerging Economies Gain Clout in G-20

The plans outlined by global leaders at the meeting to deal with the financial crisis reflect a shifting balance of power, with emerging economies such as Brazil, India, and China gaining influence, the Washington Post reports. And the Europeans largely got what they wanted from the summit, French President Nicolas Sarkozy said after the emergency meeting ended yesterday.

The Group of Eight would typically meet to handle a worldwide crisis, but this time the Group of 20 was involved. "We are talking about the G-20 because the G-8 doesn't have any more reason to exist,” Brazilian President Luiz Inácio da Silva said. “In other words, the emerging economies have to be taken into consideration in today's globalized world." (More Nicolas Sarkozy stories.)