A slightly bitter gathering of G20 Leaders.  The tone was set yesterday when the Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, took a question from Toronto Sun Media reporter David Akin to push back against North American criticism of the eurozone’s inability to solve the economic crisis in Europe or to have North American funds to buttress the IMF intervention fund.

As we roll up to the release of the final communique this afternoon in Los Cabos several major news outlets have been quoting from the “leaked” draft communique.  In fact in a Chris Giles piece from the FT Giles suggested that the communique was finalized before the Leaders gathering.  Now we are aware of course that officials prepare the draft communique well in advance – often with bracketed phrases – but a finaled communique without last minute emendations as a result of leaders discussions – and indeed agreements/not agreements – would not be useful.  I am not assuming that it is any different at this leaders gathering.  Indeed other sources have suggested that the communique is being hammered out as I write this post.

The basic outline – which I doubt will change suggests that though leaders pledge support for European efforts  – “take all necessary policy measures to safeguard the single currency” – and to further express the need for growth agenda policies, subject to individual country circumstances – the communique may well lack specifics.  That would be an unfortunate turn.

These comuniques can be “freighted” with rhetorical phrases urging collective action of one sort or another, but success at the summit is determined by specific targets or policies that G20 countries commit to and are published.

On the positive side BRICS leaders at the margin of the G20 summit have agreed to add financial pledges to the IMF intervention fund.  The pledges could include $10 billion from India, Brazil and Russia and then $43 billion from China – a large amount though Japan is committing $60 billion to the fund.

Less positively is the description and details of the action plan for growth promised since Cannes Summit.  Though there is mention, at the moment, the details remain unclear.  Chris Giles has this to say:

G20 statements have pledged to take actions on growth and jobs based on individual countries following their own preferred paths for nearly two years, so the main interest will be in the precise commitments made by the large eurozone economies to restore the sovereign debt crisis.

So we wait now to see the final communique.