Following last week’s Group of 20 summit, the participating heads of government issued a statement which has been dubbed The Cannes Action Plan For Growth And Jobs.

The objective is to give impetus to the global economic recovery, keeping in mind the sovereign debt issues of some members of the eurozone and the difficult situation in public finances in countries such as the UK and the US.

It also takes into account the internal political demands of fast growing economies such as China, Brazil, Indonesia and India to ensure that economic growth filters down to all strata of the population.

The stated ultimate objective of this action plan is “to provide more and better jobs to our citizens”.

This proves the point that although the sustainability of public finances remains a critical issue, the most important issue is job creation around the globe.

Growth in the gross domestic product must support growth in employment.

Fiscal sustainability in a country such as Greece is necessary, but so is it in a country such as the US (as the G-20 document itself states).

Countries that have managed to get away with artificially low exchange rates are expected to move more rapidly towards market determined exchange rates.

Countries with a growing economy are expected to take steps to stimulate domestic demand to help sustain growth.

The preservation of the stability of the banking system was also mentioned as an important action point.

The final communiqué can in fact be interpreted as one where economic growth can only happen if there is strong international policy cooperation. This arises from two facts.

First, today all economies are vulnerable to developments in other economies.

Second, there is not one single economy (as opposed to the past), that can drive economic growth on its own.

It is stated that the way to hell is paved with good intentions and one sincerely hopes that the G-20 governments have not embarked on such a path.

What gives me this sense of discomfort are two elements. First, there is no mention to combat speculation in the financial markets head on.

For example, the G-20 leaders could easily have taken the cue from the head of the International Monetary Fund, Christine LaGarde, who stated that investment banks should no longer be supported by taxpayers’ money.

They did not, giving the indication that some national institutions in these countries seem to be benefitting in no small way through speculative activity.

The second element that gives rise to discomfort is the lack of language in the Cannes Action Plan that gives any indication of commitment by its signatories.

An action plan is worthy of such a name if it answers the three key questions – What? Who? and When? In this regard the Cannes Action Plan For Growth And Jobs fails miserably.

It would seem that the G-20 leaders could not agree between them on what should be done, and the best they could achieve was a neutrally worded statement that glosses over the problems with language that is not controversial.

In effect the G-20 leaders did not provide any leadership to the rest of the world, which waited anxiously for what they had to say. Worse still, as France and Germany sought to put some sense into the heads of the Greek and Italian Prime Ministers, they were accused by EU sceptics of political interference.

It is evident that the EU and, in particular, the eurozone, must resolve its own problems, with little to no external support, other than the International Monetary Fund.

This may yet be an opportunity for the EU to reassert its position on the world stage, rather than be described as a drag on the global economy.

This is also an opportunity for Malta, which must intensify its efforts at fiscal consolidation and at seeking to attract further foreign direct investment. We may be too small to be noticed by speculators; but we are certainly not immune to what happens internationally.

The Cannes Action Plan may have been no action plan at all. However, on our part we need to ensure that we have our own economic action plan in place to meet the challenges of the coming months.