Development & Aid, Europe, Global Governance, Globalisation, Headlines

GLOBALISATION: EU Calls for New Steps

Stefania Bianchi

BRUSSELS, May 27 2004 (IPS) - The European Union is stepping up its efforts to fight the social effects of globalisation.

The European Commission, the European Union (EU) executive, says the bloc’s efforts against the negative effects of globalisation can be strengthened.

"To be truly sustainable, globalisation needs to secure more equitable social development for all," it says.

The Commission says that while the positive benefits of globalisation are visible, its benefits are still spread unevenly.

In its report ‘The social dimension of globalisation – the EU’s policy contribution on extending the benefits to all’, the Commission calls for a "move from debate to action."

The report evaluates the EU’s contribution to securing the social benefits of globalisation and aims to ensure that the EU makes an active contribution to harnessing the effects of globalisation to serve social as well as economic goals.

The report is a direct response to the findings of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) report ‘A Fair Globalisation: Creating Opportunities for All’ published in February.

That report was commissioned by the World Commission on the Social Dimension of Globalisation (WCSDG) which was established by the ILO, a United Nations agency based in Geneva that promotes social justice and labour rights.

The report called for a forum to be set up by international organisations to achieve a fairer form of globalisation.

The European Commission’s report released Wednesday says the EU has made efforts both at home and abroad to ensure that economic and social progress go hand in hand.

"Nevertheless, internally more can still be done to ensure an equitable spread of globalisation’s gains in the EU," it says.

EU commissioner for employment and social affairs Stavros Dimas says that "decent work for all is a key objective" for the EU and should be a global objective as well.

"We have worked at the European level to link social and economic policies through the Lisbon strategy," he told media representatives Wednesday. "Our experience could provide inspiration for countries elsewhere which are tackling the challenges of globalisation, in particular the challenge of finding an equitable distribution of its benefits."

The Lisbon strategy seeks to make the EU the world’s most dynamic and competitive economy. It was launched at an EU summit in Lisbon, Portugal, in March 2000.

The report says that the EU also has a key role at the international level in securing "equitable globalization" and to ensure that the bloc’s external relations contribute to this goal.

"They have always had an important social dimension, for example in supporting universal access to basic social services in the developing world and in promoting effective global governance, but more can be done," the report says.

EU trade commissioner Pascal Lamy says that the EU is convinced of the need for action to ensure socially sustainable globalisation.

"Although efforts to move this issue to the multilateral level through the World Trade Organisation have stalled for the moment, we see strong potential to further this objective through our bilateral and unilateral policies," he said.

The Commission report says that enhancing dialogue with bilateral partners on sustainable development policy, including its social dimension, is one means to ensure progress.

"Another is to secure a development friendly outcome to the current Doha Development Agenda and ensure support to our developing country partners in anticipating and planning for the effects of policy change," the report says.

The Doha Development Agenda was launched in Doha in Qatar in 2001. The trade negotiations under the World Trade Organisation (WTO) were scheduled to conclude this year, but are months behind schedule.

But the Commission stresses that managing globalisation is not just about action by developed countries.

"As the WCSDG noted, much of the responsibility for social development rests with the developing countries themselves," the report says. "Although the EU can provide political and financial support, it is they who must ensure that their domestic policies respect the rule of law and human rights and ensure transparent and accountable governance."

Development groups welcomed the Commission’s response to the ILO report.

"The Commission should be praised for not ignoring the World Council’s report," Giampiero Alhadeff, secretary-general of the non-governmental organisation (NGO) Solidar told IPS. "It is also interesting the way they are looking at the effects of globalisation on developing countries as well as on the EU, and drawing attention to how the EU and EU governments are dealing with issue so their populations are not damaged by negative effects, and opportunities are created."

But he said developing countries are already charged with an overloaded burden.

"Governments cannot escape responsibility for the economic, social and environmental governance of their country, but if their space to implement social, economic or environmental policy is curtailed by the international financial institutions, then that responsibility will become an albatross around their necks," he said.

The Commission report says the contribution of international institutions to socially sustainable globalisation is a prerequisite for progress.

"Coherence should be increased between the different systems of governance, including in relation to the EU’s representation; developing countries should participate more effectively in key rule-making bodies like WTO and the structures of global governance must become more open and transparent," the report says.

Alhadeff welcomed the EU’s efforts to work for the creation of an Economic and Social Security Council.

"The process of globalisation and its governance have been stilted towards the global financial and trade organizations," he said. "The new Economic and Social Security Council should finally redress the balance."