Europe to lose some clout at IMF

BRUSSELS, Oct. 25 (UPI) -- Head of the International Monetary Fund called the power shift agreed to in South Korea during the weekend the most significant change in IMF history.

"This makes for the biggest reform ever in the governance of the institution," Dominique Strauss-Kahn said, referring to an agreement among the financial ministers of the Group of 20 nations to give more voting power to "dynamic, emerging economies," the EUobserver reported Monday.

"The 10 biggest members of the fund … will be those who deserve to be the biggest members," he said.

The shift will give countries like China, Brazil and India as much as 6 percent more of a voting share while Europe will lose some clout although how that is handled has not been specified yet.

The Netherlands and Belgium, now the 11th and 12th most influential members, will likely take a back seat to the emerging countries, the EUobserver said.