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EU Brussels: European Foreign Economic Policy proposed

726 views · Published 6 April 2009 · 3:29 · Indexed 20 September 2026

Channel: Euractiv · 2009 · News & Politics

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European economic affairs commissioner Joaquim Almunia on Monday outlined a proposal for a European foreign economic policy.

Speaking at a conference, Almunia

Shotlist:

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Title 
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Exterior view of the European Commission's building 
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General view of the conference 
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SOUNDBITE (English) by Joaquin Almunia, Member of the EC in charge of Economic and Monetary Affairs: we can no longer approach economic challenges with an inward perspective; rather we need to frame our understanding within a global context and promote action at the international level. The financial crisis provides a compelling argument for this shift in focus. Yet there are a whole range of trends linked to globalisation, including migration, climate change, risks to energy security and the rise in global demand for commodities that are bringing the external aspects of our economic policies increasingly to the fore. 
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Cutaway 
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SOUNDBITE (English) by Joaquin Almunia: nevertheless, a fragmentation of Europe's external representation in economic policy complicates and even sometimes undermines our ability to play our rightful role in an age of increasing multilateralism. The global crisis not only provides the most striking justification for strengthening EU coordination on international economic and financial policy issues. It has also opened a window of opportunity. There is huge potential to drive forward the EUs international economic agenda and put European values and standards at the core of the new world economic order. At the moment when the EU needs to be more assertive and influential in the global economic arena, this is the best way to play a real role in policy making at the international level. If we don't manage to act together as Europeans, the non-european interests will prevail. Therefore, we need to build a genuine international strategy for foreign economic policy. The time is ripe for progress. We will need to move fast. 
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Cutaway 
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SOUNDBITE (English) by Joaquin Almunia: the crisis will not resolve automatically the global imbalances of recent years; indeed the immediate economic responses are likely to make those imbalances even greater. For this reason we need to engage in a serious exchange of views among the world's major economies on macroeconomic policies going forward. And the most productive way of doing this would be through multilateral consultations led by the IMF. Of course, in such consultations, the euro-area would be present along with the other major economies in the world. This is indeed another good reason to move forward in the consolidation of the European representation in the IMF. 
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Cutaways (3 shots) 
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END 

Footage made available via EbS.

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