Luanda, 03/12/2009 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday 3 December in Luanda, MEPs and ACP representatives called for urgent reform of global governance to make international institutions more representative, democratic and open, so that developing countries, in Africa especially, have some clout and enjoy greater decision-making power. This, they say, is because social confidence in the architecture of global governance has been greatly shaken.
The resolution on global governance and reform of international institutions, adopted by the Joint Parliamentary Assembly (JPA), comes in answer to two things, as the co-president, Louis Michel, points out. These are: “That developing countries must be able to be heard within international institutions which serve the interests of 6 billion inhabitants worldwide, and not just the interests of a few, and that the global system must be effective in meeting the urgent challenges of the 21st century”.
Miguel Angel Martinez Martinez (S&D, Spain), who is co-rapporteur, said the resolution asserts “we are all to blame for this terrible economic and financial crisis, some because of their neo-Liberal approach in favour of total deregulation and their tendency to elevate the market to saintly status, and others because they have not managed to suggest an alternative solution”. The text recognises the failure of world institutions, mainly world financial institutions which should have been able to prevent this collapse by correctly exercising their role of surveillance and supervision. “It would be irresponsible not to remedy the mistakes of the past. But this should not mean a sprinkling of small corrections here and there. The text is explicit. It shows the way for making the international scene and its institutions democratic”, Mr Martinez said.
Donald Ramotar (Guyana), ACP Co-Rapporteur, points out that the global institutions created after the Second World War are not adjusted to such a situation: - the end of the Cold War, the rise in power of the emerging economies, the appearance of new threats such as climate change and drug trafficking. These require collective measures, he said. The resolution adds energy, food and environmental crises to this list of new challenges.
The JPA recommends a more equitable voting system in favour of developing and emerging countries within the IMF governing board and the governing council of the World Bank. To this end, they call for a new dual majority system based on the principle of “one member one vote” as well as on the economic weight of these countries, and on the abolition of the right of veto enjoyed by the United States at the IMF and the World Bank.
The JPA stresses that the G20 should keep its promise to appoint the management members of all the international financial institutions according to open and transparent procedures based on merit. It calls on the United Nations Security Council to enlarge the circle of its members and on the G20 to allow the G77 countries to sit at the negotiating table.
ACP and EU representatives firmly support the need to reform the IMF so that it may play a greater role of surveillance and supervision and rapidly sound the alarm in the event of imbalance on the global markets or in the event of macro-economic risks. They also call for review of the conditions according to which international financial institutions grant loans.
The JPA invites EU member states to keep the commitments taken to increase official development aid to achieve the Millennium Development Goals.
An ambitious and equitable climate agreement in Copenhagen in December, the completion of the Doha Round for Development in order to reach an equitable outcome, and respect of the commitments taken by the EU during the G20 to help developing countries to combat climate change, complete the list of requests earnestly made.
During the debate, Filip Kaczmarek (EPP, Poland) said on the subject of World Bank lending: “It is not a matter of going back on all the lending conditions but to ensure that they are in line with the reality of the situation, that they promote human rights, that they are transparent and reflect international will, and that they are more democratic”.
Mr Assarid, Mali's elected representative, was pleased that all the ACP's concerns had been taken into account, especially with regard to the Security Council. “The war in Iraq came about because the institutions were not democratic. The EU did not agree. It was a unilateral decision on the part of the United States”, he said. The invitation to come into line with commitments taken to help developing countries fight climate change and face up to the financial crisis is also a very good thing, he said. Olle Schmidt (ALDE, Sweden) stressed that reform of global governance will give more legitimacy to the G20 and Security Council. The G192, on the other hand, must transform into a “parliament of the United Nations”. Mr Schmidt has only one regret - that the text submitted to the vote had “given way to rhetorical temptation by inveighing against neo-capitalism, neo-liberalism and the free market”. “It is all that which creates millions of jobs. Without globalisation, we would not be here”, he exclaimed.
The representative of the European Commission said he shared the concerns expressed by the JPA regarding the deficit in global governance. In addition to the reflection underway, it is also important for 2005 reforms on transparency and representativeness to be implemented and for states to shoulder their responsibilities as “it is said that the United Nations institutions are a thing of the past but one should not forget that these bodies are only powerful if the members authorise them to be so”. (A.N./transl.jl)