http://www.eurodad.org//rss/langFilteredRSS.aspx?filts=Capital%20Flight_financial%20architectureThe latest News and Reports from EurodadWhither development finance?After the great recession of 2008, are we facing epochal change? To what extent is development finance (flows, policies, and architecture) evolving? What are the opportunities opening ahead for making development finance more transformative? Seeking answers to these questions, Eurodad commissioned the report Whither development finance, authored by Elisa Van Waeyenberge and Jeff Powell, to carefully assess current trends and changes in development finance and to help inform decisions in the field over the next three years.http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/reports.aspx?id=4206http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/reports.aspx?id=4206Tue, 27 Jul 2010 10:51:10 GMTReportsIMFWBUNEurodadFinancial architectureInternational Financial InstitutionsAid effectivenessPoverty analysis and strategiesGlobalAlthough not all Heavily Indebted Poor countries (HIPC 1999) have benefited from the debt relief initiative and the subsequent Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative (MDRI 2005), these processes have left us with many enduring lessons. These lessons include the fundamental fact that such relief initiatives are not sustainable. The following might explain why: firstly they were creditor led, with decisions about who can and cannot get debt relief being made by creditors on premises that are sometimes arbitrary. The debtor countries are on the back foot throughout the process. Secondly the initiatives were a result of pressure from civil society and were not structural and based on fair and just global financial architecture. Thirdly, they were based on a philanthropic attitude which would seem to condone a value system based on a brutal vein of capitalism.[2] It is our hope that today’s debt relief can be based more on a common value system based on a position of justice, equity and human rights. The debt crisis could be ascribed to the responsibility of both the creditors and debtors. In the absence of any institutional mechanism for securing such responsibility on the part of both parties, we can expect that the dominant party, in our experience the creditor, will assign failure and irresponsibility to the debtor and will impose the ideology that would support their position. It is imperative therefore that an instituting mechanism is established, that secures that each party takes responsibility for their mistakes. This should apply not only to loans but also to mistaken policy advice by the IFIs. AFRODAD’s studies on loan contraction processes in Africa 2007 (www.afrodad.org/publications) have shown that internal mechanisms have also contributed to the debt crisis in debtor countries. Apportioning responsibility is an equitable and sustainable way towards sustainable debt crisis resolution when it happens.http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=4201http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=4201Wed, 21 Jul 2010 13:30:20 GMTNewsIMFWBUNEuropean bilateral donorsEurodadDebt sustainabilityFinancial architectureAfricaOn 15th June the European Parliament passed a resolution on progress towards the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs): mid-term review in preparation for the UN high-level meeting in September 2010. This resolution sets out a number of recommendations for EU Member States ahead of the summit. It acknowledges that “all eight MDGs are currently off-target” and asks member states to adopt a leading, ambitious and united position to meet the MDGs before the 2015 deadline. Overall, this resolution is more ambitious than the position adopted by EU Member States in the June Council Conclusions on development and follows the path of other parliamentary resolutions such as the Guerrero and Domenici reports. However, the report on MDGs as adopted by the Development Committee was watered down in the vote held in the plenary session of 15th June. The proposals of an interest-free moratorium and a tax on currency and derivatives transactions to fund the MDGs were rejected by the plenary.http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=4194http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=4194Wed, 14 Jul 2010 16:06:02 GMTNewsEurodadCapital FlightAid accountingDebt sustainabilityGovernanceGlobalLast week, the G20 leaders met in Toronto, Canada, but unfortunately they were strongly divided on the policies that are needed to ensure a global economic recovery. Most concerning is the G20 return to business as usual, of prioritising fiscal consolidation at a time when global recovery is still weak, and failing to deliver on key measures to regulate the global financial system. Ninety million additional people will fall into poverty in 2010 as a result of the global crisis. The G20 Summit in Toronto was a golden opportunity to step up aid commitments, agree upon a financial transaction tax to raise new resources for development, reform the International Financial Institutions to make them deliver for the world’s poor, and curb illicit flows from the South that drain much needed resources for development.http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=4187http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=4187Thu, 1 Jul 2010 15:03:22 GMTNewsIMFWBG8EurodadFinancial architectureGlobalThis European Trade Union Institute Policy Brief written by Eurodad and members considers the lessons to be drawn from Iceland's experience. The policy brief highlights how the Icesave case has brought to the forefront of public debate in Europe key questions that anti-poverty activists have been raising for more than a decade.This policy brief outlines the course of events in Iceland since the end of 2008, and makes specific recommendations for resolving the issue, drawing implications also for sovereign debt more generally.  http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/reports.aspx?id=4161http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/reports.aspx?id=4161Thu, 17 Jun 2010 10:40:17 GMTReportsEUParis ClubEurodadIllegitimate debtDebt sustainabilityFinancial architectureGlobalA new International Monetary Fund (IMF) working paper entitled “Mining Taxation: an application to Mali” analyses the structure of the mining taxation system in Mali. It follows the regressive path set forth by the World Bank, consisting of attracting Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) by lowering royalty taxes in the gold mining sector at the expense of lower government revenues collected through these royalties. International gold prices have sharply escalated in the last decade, yet International Financial Institutions (IFIs) are still advising African countries to lower profit taxes and royalties to gold mining firms. They are overlooking the issue of transfer pricing abuse by companies in the extractive sector, a practice consisting of selling goods and services between branches of the same company at knockdown prices in order to shift money out of the country and dodge taxes. This practice deprives developing countries from as much as USD 160 billion of lost tax revenues each year.http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=4157http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=4157Wed, 16 Jun 2010 15:47:50 GMTNewsEurodadCapital FlightGlobalhttp://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=4145http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=4145Wed, 2 Jun 2010 17:23:28 GMTNewsEurodadFinancial architectureGlobalhttp://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=4136http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=4136Thu, 20 May 2010 10:59:41 GMTNewsotherOtherFinancial architectureGlobalThe United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) convened a public symposium in Geneva on 10 and 11 May to discuss new development paths that are needed in the aftermath of the global crisis. Participants at the meeting made proposals for key reforms in the global financial architecture and expressed a common desire to move forward with new alliances to address urgent development needs, but remained disappointed by the little progress made in reforming global finance since the start of the global crisis.http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=4133http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=4133Wed, 19 May 2010 18:14:44 GMTNewsIMFWBUNEurodadFinancial architectureGlobalAccording to the IMF, six countries that have benefitted from debt relief through the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative (HIPC) are now at high risk of entering into new debt distress. The high level of debt faced by post completion point HIPCs and other countries proves the need for radical changes in how debt sustainability is understood and in how debt crisis are addressed in the global financial architecture. The IMF classifies about one third of Low Income Countries (LICs) as at high risk of or in debt distress, and one third to be at moderate risk. Some of these have fulfilled HIPC requirements and are expected to qualify for debt relief, but several non-HIPCs also appear on the list, which includes Burma and Zimbabwe, and is dominated by Caribbean countries and small islands. The IMF presents these findings in the report “Preserving debt sustainability in low-income countries in the wake of the global crisis”, which states that the global crisis has increased LICs’ debt vulnerabilities significantly and concludes that further debt relief might be needed.http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=4131http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=4131Wed, 19 May 2010 17:59:28 GMTNewsIMFEurodadMultilateral debtBilateral debtPrivate debtDebt sustainabilityFinancial architectureGlobalhttp://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=4130http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=4130Wed, 19 May 2010 17:29:09 GMTNewsIMFWBEUCampagna per la Riforma de la Banca MondialeFinancial architectureGlobalNorway is continuing to collect illegitimate debt from the people of Indonesia. This is the conclusion of a new report published by Eurodad member SLUG in collaboration with the International NGO Forum on Indonesian Development (INFID). The report demonstrates how Indonesia is still paying for a wave power plant that was never finished, and technology that was never transferred.  In the 1990s, Indonesia signed seven loan agreements with Norwegian companies, with a total contract value of US$198 million, mostly aimed at transferring environmental technology. At that time, the Norwegian government announced the so-called Asia-Plan to encourage investment in selected Asian countries. Indonesia, presided over by Suharto at the time, was one of the prioritised countries, and the transfer of environmentally friendly technology was one of the targeted sectors. The Norwegian government used the mixed credits scheme as a tool to support firms willing to invest in Asia. The government provided grants from the aid budget, whilst the Norwegian export credit agency (GIEK) provided guarantees. The majority of the contract value was financed by export credits and had to be reimbursed by the Indonesian state. By December 2008, Indonesia had close to US$100 million in outstanding debt, originating from these seven projects. SLUG has investigated two of the projects and concluded that Norway must admit its responsibility for extending credits for failed projects that did not contribute to development, and act on this by cancelling the outstanding debt. http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/reports.aspx?id=4128http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/reports.aspx?id=4128Mon, 17 May 2010 14:36:02 GMTReportsParis ClubExport Credit AgenciesOECDEuropean bilateral donorsSLUGBilateral debtIllegitimate debtFinancial architectureGlobalRepresentatives from Eurodad, a member of the Task Force on Financial Integrity and Economic Development, took the floor at the Repsol shareholders meeting on April 30 in Madrid and called on the firm to support a country by country reporting standard for the extractive industry.  Repsol is the world’s 15th largest petroleum refining company.http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=4123http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=4123Fri, 7 May 2010 09:22:19 GMTNewsEurodadCapital FlightGlobalThe World People’s Conference on Climate Change and the Rights of Mother Earth, a gathering of 30 000 indigenous people, farmers, activists, grassroots leaders and political and government officials, was organised in Cochabamba, Bolivia at the end of April. The event, which took place over four days and was convened by Bolivia’s president Evo Morales, was intended to both challenge the accord reached in Copenhagen and to contribute to the United Nations’ official climate talks.http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=4119http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=4119Wed, 5 May 2010 17:26:52 GMTNewsotherEurodadFinancial architectureGlobalAhead of the Spring Meetings of the IMF and World Bank, the IMF has delivered its interim report to the G20. The report outlines several options for how the financial sector can be made liable for at least some of the costs caused by the crisis, which are currently borne by taxpayers. Not surprisingly, the IMF staff reject the ambitious proposal of introducing a general Financial Transaction Tax (FTT). They opt for bank levies and a VAT-like Financial Activities Tax (FAT) instead.http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=4108http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=4108Thu, 22 Apr 2010 16:46:21 GMTNewsIMFEurodadInternational Financial InstitutionsCapital FlightFinancial architecturePoverty analysis and strategiesGlobalThe European Commission has just released a package of Communications and Staff working papers that presents their position on aid effectiveness, tax and development and on progress towards achieving the EU commitments on Financing for Development (FfD) as agreed ahead of the UN Summit on FfD in Monterrey in 2002. This year’s “April package” has a specific focus on “Getting the Millennium Development Goals back on track: a twelve point EU action plan”. http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=4102http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=4102Wed, 21 Apr 2010 17:33:33 GMTNewsIMFWBEUOECDEuropean bilateral donorsEurodadBilateral debtInternational Financial InstitutionsAid effectivenessCapital FlightEuropeThe final consensus document builds on the Eurodad Charter on Responsible Financing, which was developed in 2007. Where the Eurodad Charter lists principles which should be followed by lender governments and institutions, the global platform also provides specific demands to borrower governments. The platform defines principles, rules and standards which should constitute the basis for changing policies, processes and practices in loan transactions. The Collevecchio meeting also started a process to establish common demands for responsible behavior within financial markets and transactions involving lending, borrowing, bond floats and debt papers. In addition it addresses public guarantees and contingent liabilities. The South-North platform highlights that the issues of sovereign, democratic and responsible finance need to be dealt with within a broader context. It recognises the historically unjust and inequitable power relations between countries and between elites and the majority of people and points to how skewed power relations have given and still give rise to illegitimate debt. The establishment of sovereign, democratic and responsible financial relations requires these inequalities to be acknowledged and addressed.http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/reports.aspx?id=4100http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/reports.aspx?id=4100Wed, 21 Apr 2010 15:12:46 GMTReportsEurodadIllegitimate debtMultilateral debtBilateral debtPrivate debtDebt sustainabilityFinancial architectureGlobalNew briefing by Eurodad member Ibis, in collaboration with TJN, Eurodad and other members. Written by Richard Murphy. Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) are state owned companies located in European countries that invest their capital in developingcountries for the express purpose of advancing development in those places by promoting investment in local businesses. This meansthat their activities should be fully in line with internationally agreed development goals, namely that of enabling mobilisation of domesticresources through proper taxation of economic activities in developing countries; thirdly, as agents for change they must be transparentand accountable in all they do and be seen to promote the highest standards of social, environmental and governance policy compliance. This briefing argues that one way in which the DFIs can do that is to stop using tax havens as places through which they invest, and toimplement stringent guidelines for DFI backed companies using tax havens. This is a draft for presentation during the World Bank and IMF spring meetings.  Comments to this draft can be sent  to lk@ibis.dk before May 14th.http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/reports.aspx?id=4099http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/reports.aspx?id=4099Wed, 21 Apr 2010 11:45:43 GMTReportsotherNorth South Coalition – IbisCapital FlightInternational Financial InstitutionsEuropehttp://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/reports.aspx?id=4090http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/reports.aspx?id=4090Fri, 16 Apr 2010 10:07:57 GMTReportsIMFWBEurodadInternational Financial InstitutionsMultilateral debtCapital FlightGlobalOn March 28th the World Bank and the African Development Bank convened a conference in Tunis that gathered debt managers mainly from developing countries, officials from International Financial Institutions (IFIs) and other multilateral agencies, as well as academics and Civil Society Organisations. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss rising challenges on debt management in the wake of the crisis and the advisability of enhanced debt work-out mechanisms to deal with them.  EURODAD member Erlassjahr participated in the conference. http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=4068http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=4068Thu, 8 Apr 2010 10:05:39 GMTNewsIMFWBUNEurodadMultilateral debtDebt sustainabilityIllegitimate debtFinancial architectureInternational Financial InstitutionsGlobalA new GFI report, Illicit financial flows from Africa, hidden resource for development presents an analysis  of the volume and pattern of illicitflows from African countries over a 39 year-period, from 1970 to 2008.http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=4059http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=4059Thu, 1 Apr 2010 13:53:11 GMTNewsotherEurodadCapital FlightAfricaA new report released from Global Financial Integrity (GFI) on private, non-resident deposits in secrecy jurisdictions finds that the United States, United Kingdom, and the Cayman Islands are the most popular destinations for financial deposits by non-residents. Switzerland, Luxembourg, and Hong Kong also make the top 10 list of destinations. http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=4046http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=4046Thu, 25 Mar 2010 10:10:56 GMTNewsEurodadCapital FlightGlobalOn 25th March, the European Parliament is expected to approve a new non-legislative resolution “on the effects of the global financial and economic crisis on developing countries and on development cooperation”. With the so-called ‘Guerrero Report’, the Parliament would once again take the EU institutional lead in fighting illicit capital flows and tax havens. However, at this very moment, on the eve of the day scheduled for the vote, conservative members are attempting to block language on the need to establish a financial transaction tax and on further debt cancellation. As a result, the approval of the resolution tomorrow is under threat.http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=4045http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=4045Wed, 24 Mar 2010 18:03:06 GMTNewsIMFWBEUOECDUNEurodadCapital FlightGlobalThe huge volume of opaque derivatives transactions was a major cause of the financial crisis. Derivatives markets have made commodity and other prices more volatile, and have created huge losses, destabilising economies. The regulatory measures that the European Union and other powers are currently considering on certain types of derivatives are inadequate. They should be replaced by bolder measures to regulate finance for the benefit of citizens in Europe and across the world.Read the full briefing  here.http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=4041http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=4041Thu, 11 Mar 2010 13:45:42 GMTNewsEUEurodadFinancial architectureCapital FlightEuropeRecently citizens and civil society organizations all over Europe have been stepping up the push for the introduction of a Financial Transaction Tax (FTT). The large support for the FTT is due to its triple benefit: it has huge potential as a new source of revenue for public budgets, it would contribute to the stabilisation of financial markets, and it would be an invaluable tool for the tax justice movement ─ all of which is badly needed in the aftermath of the global financial crisis.http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=4039http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=4039Thu, 11 Mar 2010 13:08:54 GMTNewsIMFWBEUOECDEurodadFinancial architectureCapital FlightAid accountingInternational Financial InstitutionsGlobalhttp://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=4037http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=4037Wed, 10 Mar 2010 16:35:34 GMTNewsEUOECDEurodadCapital FlightGlobalEurodad member CCFD-Terre Solidaire supports the start that the French government is making towards tackling tax havens: the government has announced that it will publish a list of tax havens, with specific sanctions -demonstrating that it is taking the issue seriously. Furthermore, the list will be revised every year. But the measures France is putting in place leave a lot to be desired. http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=4027http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=4027Thu, 25 Feb 2010 13:17:40 GMTNewsCCFDCapital FlightGlobalNew research by US think tank Global Financial Integrity (GFI) shows that developing countries are losing up to $US 107 billion per year in tax revenues as a result of trade mispricing by multinational companies, and the figure is growing each year. The amount represents an average of 4.4% of the entire developing world’s average revenue.http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=4009http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=4009Thu, 18 Feb 2010 12:51:14 GMTNewsotherEurodadCapital FlightGlobalA new resolution on the revision of the "Cotonou Agreement" was adopted on the 20th January and contains specific proposals to address some concerns that Civil Society Organisations had also raised in the past regarding European Investment Bank (EIB) lending. It also calls for binding country by country reporting standards for transnational corporations.http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=3986http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=3986Thu, 28 Jan 2010 21:16:03 GMTNewsEUEurodadCapital FlightGlobalOn the 19th January, the European Union Council discussed savings taxation and other tax governance measures, which are all priorities for the Spanish EU presidency. The presidency has committed to pushing the agenda forward, and many other Member states including France, the UK and Germany are in support this. However, a consensus among the 27 Member states is required, and two Member states- Austria and Luxembourg - are fiercely opposed to any substantial progress on this issue.http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=3980http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=3980Thu, 28 Jan 2010 10:20:58 GMTNewsEUEurodadCapital FlightEuropeIn a note to the UN Committee of Experts on International Cooperation in Tax Matters entitled “Treaty process for developing countries”, Mr. Victor Thuronyi, senior counsel to the International Monetary Fund, puts forward key proposals for ensuring that developing countries benefit from information exchanges and avoid tax evasion and double taxation. Among these, he identifies two key proposals that have also been put forward by civil society organisations a multilateral tax treaty and automatic information exchange, as being the most beneficial for developing countries. http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=3979http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=3979Thu, 28 Jan 2010 10:02:14 GMTNewsUNEurodadCapital FlightGlobalThat the OECD and its associated Forums can and should make a major contribution to the technical aspects of the domestic resource mobilisation agenda is clear, but, technical work is always embedded within a political agenda, whether explicit or implicit. Where developing countries are concerned, it is imperative that these countries be able to shape the political agenda – a process that cannot take place within the OECD, or within a forum associated with it. http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=3976http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=3976Fri, 22 Jan 2010 10:52:56 GMTNewsOECDEurodadCapital FlightGlobalThere’s a new EU tax type in townAlgirdas Semeta may not be a household name to many people in the EU. Nor might his title of ‘Commissioner Designate for Taxation and Customs Union, Audit and Anti-Fraud’ ring a bell. You might even struggle to place him when I tell you that he used to be Director General of the Department of Statistics of the Government of Lithuania.But for the next five years, he is (pending confirmation by the European Parliament) going to be the man-who-can when it comes to tax in Brussels. Last week he was grilled by MEPs to find out what he planned to do with his five year tenure at the European Commission, and he had something interesting to say.Mr Semeta said he’s a big fan of the beautifully-named Common Consolidated Corporate Tax Base (CCCTB). This beast of an acronym is actually a major revolution in the way multinational companies are taxed in Europe.At the moment, companies get to decide themselves, subject to a set of rules, how they distribute their profits between the countries in which they operate, for tax purposes: different parts of the company trade with each other, and while there are masses of rules to govern this, in practice they can often shift part of their profits to wherever gives them the best tax deal. This has a massive impact on developing countries as well as European ones.Under the CCCTB, the distribution of profits between participating countries would be decided by a formula that the governments set, which is much harder for companies to get round, and much simpler than the current arrangement. That means, if the EU can make it work, maybe one day it could help developing countries cut down on tax avoidance and evasion too.Watch this space…http://www.eurodad.org/http://www.eurodad.org/Thu, 21 Jan 2010 11:37:10 GMTBlogCapital Flightfinancial architectureIllicit money leaves poorer countries through a global shadow financial system comprising tax havens, secrecy jurisdictions, disguised corporations, anonymous trust accounts, fake foundations, trade mispricing, and money-laundering techniques. Much of this money is permanently shifted into western economies.http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=3972http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=3972Mon, 18 Jan 2010 17:37:19 GMTNewsEurodadCapital FlightGlobalThe European Network on Debt and Development (EURODAD), comprised of 59 non-governmental organizations (NGOs) from 18 European countries working on debt, development finance, and poverty reduction, has joined the Task Force on Financial Integrity and Economic Development. http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=3971http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=3971Mon, 18 Jan 2010 17:33:16 GMTNewsEurodadCapital FlightGlobalEurodad has published a report this week on the current flaws and proposals for reforming the international monetary system, “The cost of reserves: developing countries pay the price of global financial instability”. The report highlights the lack of appropriate regulation and the global monetary (dis)order that have been at the heart of the current financial crisis. The absence of appropriate coordination and adjustment mechanisms of global monetary policies, and the unfettered liberalisation of global financial markets led to dramatic global imbalances and global economic disaster. The report summarises key existing proposals to reform the global monetary system in the short term, as well as deeper reforms of the global financial architecture that give a stronger voice to developing countries.http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/reports.aspx?id=3964http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/reports.aspx?id=3964Thu, 14 Jan 2010 14:08:49 GMTReportsotherEurodadFinancial architectureCapital FlightGovernanceInternational Financial InstitutionsGlobalThe Proposals for a sovereign debt work-out procedure for countries experiencing sovereign debt difficulties are not new. Since 1990, a number of different ideas have been tabled. Kunibert Raffer of the University of Vienna has proposed the internationalisation of Chapter 9 of the US bankruptcy code. Latin American economists, Alberto Acosta and Oscar Ugarteche have tabled the idea of a permanent ‘Sovereign Debt Arbitration Tribunal’ (TIADS) under the aegis of the United Nations. In 2001, the IMF’s Anne Kreuger put forward the idea of a ‘Sovereign Debt Restructuring Mechanism’ (SDRM) to be administered by the IMF. Most recently, Christoph Paulus and Steven Kargman outlined their proposals for a Sovereign Debt Tribunal which should be empowered to examine not just cases of unsustainable debt but also the legitimacy of individual creditor claims.http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/reports.aspx?id=3946http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/reports.aspx?id=3946Thu, 17 Dec 2009 10:48:30 GMTReportsIMFWBParis ClubUNEuropean bilateral donorsotherEurodadFinancial architectureIllegitimate debtDebt sustainabilityGlobalOn December 9th the European Parliament and the European Commission co-organised a high level discussion on tax and development for combating poverty.The conference, chaired by MEP Eva Joly, brought together prominent stakeholders from different sectors, including Mali’s Minister of Mines, EU Commissioners on Development and Tax, the Spanish Development Cooperation General Director and the Director on tax issues from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Eurodad director, Nuria Molina and colleagues from Christian Aid and Tax Justice Network Africa were also invited to speak from the civil society perspective.http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=3941http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=3941Thu, 17 Dec 2009 08:56:50 GMTNewsEUOECDEuropean bilateral donorsEurodadCapital FlightEuropeThe European Parliament has a crucial role in ensuring that European economic, financial and development policies are coherent with the objective of the Lisbon Treaty to “foster the sustainable economic, social and environmental development of developing countries, with the primary aim of eradicating poverty” and to “ensure consistency between these and its other policies.”http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=3937http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=3937Wed, 16 Dec 2009 12:26:12 GMTNewsEUEurodadFinancial architectureGlobalIncreasing private sector lending by MDBs, in particular the IFC, may contradict actions taken against tax avoidance. The IFC provides financial support to companies and banks using tax havens. All too often multinational companies operating in developing countries make use of secrecy jurisdictions to avoid paying taxes on profits made in the South, thus undermining domestic resources mobilisation in the world’s poorest countries. http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=3932http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=3932Tue, 8 Dec 2009 16:22:26 GMTNewsWBOECDEurodadCapital FlightGlobalDevelopment is about far more than providing aid. Many policies in other areas can affect poorer people across the world. Accepting this, the European Union has committed to ensure that policies such as fisheries, energy and trade do not undermine its development pledges. This Policy Coherence for Development approach was launched in 2005 as part of the European Consensus on Development. Now the European Commission has published a progress report, and NGOs have published their own analysis urging extending and strengthening the process. This among other issues will be discussed at this week's European Development Days in Stockholm.http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=3883http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=3883Wed, 21 Oct 2009 18:06:58 GMTNewsEUEuropean bilateral donorsEurodadFinancial architectureAid accountingPoverty analysis and strategiesCapital FlightEuropeTwenty months after signing the founding charter of the Bank of the South in Buenos Aires, South American presidents signed the Articles of Agreement of BANCOSUR in Porlamar, Margarita Island, on Monday, 28 September 2009. The agreement contains rules that were negotiated by committees at the level of ministries of economy and finance, and include capital investments, a voting mechanism, recruitment of staff, case law, tax and legal considerations of officials and the functionality of the bank. In other words, exactly what it is for.http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=3882http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=3882Mon, 19 Oct 2009 16:07:39 GMTNewsotherEurodadFinancial architectureInternational Financial InstitutionsLatin AmericaOn Friday, at a Friends of Europe high-level roundtable, I asked European Commission President José Manuel Barroso what European Union governments were going to do about their over-representation in the G20, World Bank and IMF. Part of his (surprising, and long) response was that “the G20 looks increasingly like the European Council”. He meant that G20 procedures are similar to the Council’s and it is proceeding to find consensus in a business-like way. Not that there are as many Europeans round the table. I pointed out that the April 2010 deadline set in Istanbul to rejig the IMF’s governance seemed quite serious and that Europeans are on the line to come up with proposals to reduce their representation. I quoted Simon Johnson who wrote on Baseline Scenario “the G20 has 19 or perhaps up to 25 [leaders], depending on how many Europeans manage to gate crash on a continuing basis”. (This in his interesting piece “Did anything happen in Istanbul?”. Another great point in there was “the IMF appears to be increasingly under the auspices of the G20 – despite the fact that this is extremely awkward from a formal governance point of view.”) Barroso’s reply on European global financial governance contained some predictable points, but some surprising ones. The obvious: he is a big fan of the fact that the European Commission is a full member of the process (i.e. he attends the summits and can stand next to world leaders). But he went much further, claiming that the G20 was an example of “European leadership”. He emphasised that he and president Sarkozy flying to Camp David last October was what had got the forum off the ground. He said that a close comparison of the 17th September European pre-Pittsburgh summit outcome (PDF) with that of last month's final G20 communiqué would show Europe’s language and intellectual input. Riccardo Perissich, former Director General of DG Internal Market, commented that this is because Europe still “has the right of proposal”, as none of the new countries at the top global policy-making table are ready to put forward an intellectual framework. However, he warned, this right would not be present for much longer. Mr Barroso said he disagreed with my point that European governments are over-represented. But he did share my view that there is sometimes “a lack of coherence” in European voices at the World Bank and IMF. Therefore he would encourage, if possible, unified representation as this might be more influential than having eight or nine European speakers one after the other making similar points. Kalypso Nicolaïdis, Director of the European Studies Centre at Oxford University, had a different view. She agreed that regions could and should be building blocks for global multilateralism, but said that sometimes  a “constructive cacophony” of different voices is better than single representation. Last Friday I didn't get a chance to intervene again in that session to point out the different scenarios for the future of European representation in the IFIs that we set out in our 2006 study: A Question of Harmony, European Governance of the World Bank and IMF.  In another session of the roundtable event on Friday I raised concerns about the strength of private finance lobbyists, and said the European "policy coherence for development" process is extremely weak in comparison, for example in tackling tax havens and capital flight. While there I picked up the report of another Friends of Europe event in May where I also raised these concerns. I said then that “there is a lot of anger bubbling up as the impacts of budget deficits pass through the system” and that this is worsened by the “zero public interest or citizen representation” in bodies such as the de Larosiere Group which are deciding on European Union financial regulation. Joaquin Almunia, Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner responded then: “the Commission represents the public interest”. All readers will know why this statement is embarassingly simplistic, but for more detailed analysis watch out for a forthcoming Corporate Europe Observatory special report ‘A captive Commission – the role of the financial industry in shaping industry regulation’, due out in early November.http://www.eurodad.org/http://www.eurodad.org/Mon, 12 Oct 2009 15:09:08 GMTBlogCapital Flightfinancial architectureAlthough 2009 will be probably remembered as the year of International Financial Institutions' resurgence, the Spring and Annual meetings have been uneventful. The G20 leaders’ meetings in London and in Pittsburgh before the Bank/Fund gatherings set the boundaries of political agreements with the latter reduced to a follow-up role. Under discussion in Istanbul were reform of the governance of the IFIs, topping up their funding, as well as their roles in analysing debt sustainability, global imbalances and tax evasion.http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=3860http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=3860Wed, 7 Oct 2009 10:31:05 GMTNewsIMFWBEurodadInternational Financial InstitutionsDebt sustainabilityMultilateral debtCapital FlightFinancial architectureGlobalMen in grey suits (and a handful of women) have taken over Istanbul for the Annual Meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The IMF is more than ever the new star in town, after the huge resurgence in its resources and lending volumes in the aftermath of what has already been labelled as the greatest crisis since the Great Depression. IMF staff is still the target of strong civil society criticism as the controversy on whether the conditions that it is attaching to its programmes for poor countries are right (as the IMF claims) or wrong (as CSOs - including Eurodad - say). But there is something new in IMF staff: they are more confident than ever (as if staff had received top PR training knowing that the increase of its power will come hand in hand with closer CSO scrutiny). But is the wisely crafted smooth attitude towards external criticism a genuine commitment to institutional change, or is it just the best PR offensive of the IMF's history? It seems that (at least some) men (and few women) and grey suits may be listening - but not half as much as they should:- On IMF conditionality: last week the IMF published the paper "Creating Policy Space - Responsive Design and Streamlines Conditionality in Recent Low-Income Country Programmes (PDF)" partially in response to Eurodad and Third World Network criticisms in research published this year*. We are glad that the IMF is listening (see our work cited on page 7 of the IMF report). But, I am still concerned that they have been pushed to allow higher deficits in poor countries hit by the crisis rather than having chosen to actively advise developing countries to implement expansionary policies. - On additional resources for low-income countries through transferring Special Drawing Rights from richer to poorer: on Saturday, the UK and French governments announced that they would transfer some of the Special Drawing Rights that they received on the special allocation agreed by the G20 leaders and implemented at the end of August. CSOs including Eurodad have been asking rich countries to make such move; however, we had called for these transfers to been done directly to low-income countries so they could benefit from additional liquidity without conditionality. The French and British decision to channel the SDR transfer through the Fund means that these resources are going to be lent to low-income countries through the usual IMF programmes which come with conditionality attached.  As I sit in the event organised by Eurodad, members, and Southern allies, "Change you can believe in? Critical perspectives on whether and how IMF programmes have changed and need to change", with Joseph Stiglitz and IMF representatives featuring, I'm still wondering whether the IMF has learned some lessons out of this crisis or still thinks that the best the world could witness in 2011 is returning "to the healthy growth of the last decade." But didn't we agree that such growth was based on rotten foundations?See: Bail-out or blow-out? IMF policy advice and conditions for low-income countries at a time of crisis, Eurodad, June 2009.  http://www.eurodad.org/http://www.eurodad.org/Mon, 5 Oct 2009 11:54:09 GMTBlogCapital Flightfinancial architectureThe communiqué agreed last weekend at Pittsburgh expressed concern about the impacts of the financial crisis on low-income countries. It gives further details of planned funding via the IMF and World Bank and a further statement on combating illicit capital outflows. The outcome document gives several points for follow up, but many are vague. Martin Khor of South Centre commented that the G20 “did not tackle key issues of immediate concern to developing countries, such as providing more liquid funds, or to help countries from falling into a foreign debt crisis caused by the financial downturn”.http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=3846http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=3846Fri, 2 Oct 2009 16:01:42 GMTNewsIMFWBG8EurodadInternational Financial InstitutionsCapital FlightFinancial architectureAid effectivenessGlobalOur story earlier this week gave an overview of the outcomes and implications of the agreements from Pittsburgh. Here are some more interesting views from India, China and Australia, plus some more satirical comments. Many Indian commentators are pleased with the stronger role for the G20. P Vaidyanathan Iyer in the Indian Express revels in the fact that “with the G20 emerging as the next big platform, India now finds itself on the high table with an opportunity to influence decision-making on global issues”. He continues that India can now expect an almost doubling of its quota at the International Monetary Fund by 2011 and an increase in its World Bank shareholding. Developing countries only got a 5% reallocation, not 7% as demanded. Iyer quotes Indian premier Manmohan Singh saying “that’s a compromise”, but concludes that “India is happy to live with it”.  In the Australian Paul Kelly lays down his views in forthright Antipodean style. “Insulting China by relegating it to secondary status in the corridors of the G8 was no longer a tenable position. The fact that developing nations now constitute more than 50 per cent of global GDP was a further irresistible claim for reform. Suspicions held by Europe and Japan against the radical shift to the G20 were unable to stem the tide”. As a party paper the China Daily reads less well but the message is equally strong. “Firstly, the financial system of the western world led by the U.S. has become ineffective, causing the virus of the financial crisis to ferment and spread rapidly. Secondly, in an age of emerging economies continuously growing, it is impossible to effectively control the operation of the global economy by solely depending on developed countries, not to mention coping with the attack of the financial crisis. This determines that the rise of G20 on the world stage is a historical necessity”. Stephen Harper, the Canadian prime minister, acknowledges (more directly than most European leaders do) that his government’s influence is waning:  "Will Canada's voice and Canada's role be diluted (in the G20)? I think it would be crazy for me to deny that, to some degree," he said (Toronto Star). Not for the first time, Harper’s UK counterpart Gordon Brown seemed to misjudge his soundbite. He compared the G20 to a major conflict! According to the FT he described the new body as offering "more chance of delivering results than anything since the second world war." Let’s hope that getting clear decisions on finance and regulation will be done with the loss of many fewer people lose their home and lives than occurred between 1939 and 1945.   Finally a very jaded but witty view from Matt Gurney on the National Post blog in Canada. He headlined his piece “G8 becomes G20; Earth blossoms into paradise for all”. His point? “what was really holding us back was not having quite enough functionaries drafting press releases”.http://www.eurodad.org/http://www.eurodad.org/Fri, 2 Oct 2009 15:07:52 GMTBlogCapital Flightfinancial architectureDeveloping country debt is once again high on the agenda of policymakers and the international financial institutions. The global financial crisis has hit developing countries hard: a sharp contraction in global demand, volatile commodity prices, lower levels of migrant remittances, uncertain levels of official development assistance, increased spreads on sovereign bonds and lower levels of affordable capital have all combined to significantly worsen the budgetary position of many governments. In 2009 alone, the shortfall in external financing is estimated at between US$350 and US$635 billion.http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/reports.aspx?id=3844http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/reports.aspx?id=3844Thu, 1 Oct 2009 14:46:23 GMTReportsIMFWBExport Credit AgenciesUNG8European bilateral donorsEurodadMultilateral debtDebt sustainabilityFinancial architectureIllegitimate debtCapital FlightGlobalLeaders meeting in Pittsburgh agreed that the G-20 should be “the premier forum for our international economic cooperation". They demoted the G8 to cover only security and foreign policy issues. Many civil society groups are glad that the anachronistic G8 has lost its original mandate. But will developing country citizens gain from the new arrangements? And what of Europe, which appears to have lost power and visibility?http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=3841http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=3841Tue, 29 Sep 2009 16:08:29 GMTNewsIMFWBEUG8EurodadFinancial architectureInternational Financial InstitutionsGlobalFrench campaigners are not celebrating Monaco's promotion from the OECD's tax haven greylist to its whitelist. The principality is cock-a-hoop that it has already fulfilled the OECD's criteria, talking about Monaco's "new image in tax cooperation". But, as we have pointed out on several occasions, these are far too weak. A country just needs to find another dirty dozen tax havens to sign agreements with and it can escape any sanctions. Why just twelve, leaving out over 90 per cent of countries? No good reason. Oxfam France - Agir Ici, one of our members, has listed the jurisdictions with which Monaco has signed tax information exchange agreements. Among them are Andorra, Austria, the Bahamas, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Qatar, Samoa, Saint Marin and Saint Kitts. The announcement has left Oxfam France "all the more perplexed" and disappointed about the way that the G20 and the international community is handling the tax evasion issue since their grand announcements in April. Oxfam France has a new report on the issue. Paradis fiscaux : à quand la fin des petits arrangements entre amis? (PDF) and has worked with others to launch a petition. The story has been picked up by Le Monde, among others, quoting Maylis Labusquière of Oxfam France. I can't think of a way to translate her soundbite condemnation of the G20/OECD tax haven scheme, which she says are "comptes apothicaires", but I'd guess it means something like magical accounts, or alchemy. But the message is clear, and we hope that they reach the G20 leaders in Pittsburgh loud and clear. Eurodad's G20 assessment, released last week, also covers World Bank, IMF and other related issues.    I looked for a link to the Monaco government, but strangely it's official news website is blank at the moment. Perhaps they need to raise more taxes, then they can afford to fix it.http://www.eurodad.org/http://www.eurodad.org/Tue, 22 Sep 2009 17:35:26 GMTBlogCapital Flightfinancial architectureEurodad has obtained the joint EU position document for the G20 summit. The 13 page document  covers the whole G20 agenda. This short piece gives selected highlights and quick responses. A more detailed assessment of the G20 agenda and its implementation status is in our accompanying briefing From London to Pittsburgh: assessing G20 action for developing countries released today.http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=3823http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=3823Wed, 16 Sep 2009 15:04:55 GMTNewsEUEurodadFinancial architectureInternational Financial InstitutionsCapital FlightGlobalJust before the September 2009 European leaders meeting in Brussels and the Pittsburgh G20 summits, this briefing summarises the pledges made by G20 leaders on development, compares them to latest assessments of need, and examines implementation and likely outcomes. It makes recommendations for extra actions that leaders should agree this month.http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=3820http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=3820Tue, 15 Sep 2009 16:35:50 GMTNewsIMFWBEUEurodadFinancial architectureAid accountingInternational Financial InstitutionsCapital FlightGlobalThis is a listing of documents and other resources produced by Eurodad and its members on the financial and economic crisis since it became a full-blown crisis in September 2008. If there are resources missing from here please suggest them.http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=3819http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=3819Mon, 14 Sep 2009 13:46:35 GMTNewsIMFWBEUEurodadFinancial architectureInternational Financial InstitutionsCapital FlightGlobalOn 3 September the European Parliament Development Committee discussed the effects of the economic crisis on developing countries. Oxford University professor Ngaire Woods presented a report that the Parliament had commissioned on this topic. This analysed the main impacts of the crisis on developing countries and assessed the counter-measures put in place by the G20, European Union and International financial institutions in response. Development Committee chair French MEP Eva Joly said the study would be used for amendments to a forthcoming parliamentary report on the impacts of the crisis on developing countries.http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=3815http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=3815Wed, 9 Sep 2009 13:34:47 GMTNewsEUEurodadFinancial architectureInternational Financial InstitutionsGlobalThis report is the first report in an initiative to create a comprehensive, and globally representative series of country reports that touch on diverse tax justice issues. The intent is to analyse the national tax systems, the distribution of the tax burden, the incentive structure and explore emerging national or regional themes including existing and proposed tax related advocacy issues among stakeholders.This report is meant to be a starting point for developing local advocacy campaigns around issues of taxation, equity and public accountability. The report itself draws on a month of research conducted in February-March 2009 by Wilson Prichard and Isaac Bentum, while drawing heavily on PhD research conducted by the former, and a lifetime of experience in tax administration for the latter.http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/reports.aspx?id=3814http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/reports.aspx?id=3814Tue, 1 Sep 2009 14:23:58 GMTReportsotherOtherCapital FlightAfricaThis week the European Investment Bank came out with a revised policy on offshore financial centres (tax havens). This is primarily in response to the G20’s interest in tax evasion, but the new policy followed closely on the publication of the Eurodad/Counter-Balance study released in June. The Bank’s release trumpets that the new policy “confirms its leadership role in preventing its corporate clients using offshore finance centres to evade taxes”. It is true that the EIB is ahead of some other international financial institutions in this respect, but its policy is by no means adequate.http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=3810http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=3810Thu, 27 Aug 2009 13:54:10 GMTNewsEUEurodadCapital FlightInternational Financial InstitutionsGlobalEurodad has produced a new report for NGO coalition CounterBalance. The report is entitled: Flying in the face of development. How European Investment bank funds enable tax havens and it looks into the EIB operations in the South that involve tax havens.  It is little known that the EU House-Bank is increasingly lending outside Europe. With a mandate to lend EUR 27.8 billion over the 2007-2013 outside the EU (excluding ACP countries) the EIB is a leading financial powerhouse operating around the globe on behalf of the EU and its member states, the EIB’s shareholders. The EIB will, for example, allocate EUR 2 billion to support Africa in the context of the financial crisis over the next three years, mainly for investments in infrastructure, energy projects and the financial sector.This research reveals that there is a long list of the EIB clients and projects in developing countries which use tax havens and similar secrecy jurisdictions. One of the most used tax havens for investments in the Sub Saharan African region is Mauritius. This is particularly contradictory to the development purposes the EIB has under the Cotonou Agreement. Secrecy jurisdictions foster tax competition, allow bank secrecy and therefore corruption, and facilitate tax evasion and tax avoidance.http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/reports.aspx?id=3797http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/reports.aspx?id=3797Mon, 3 Aug 2009 12:42:38 GMTReportsotherEurodadCapital FlightEuropeIn June 2008 the Norwegian government appointed a commission on capital flight from poor countries that would be in charge of presenting proposals to curb illicit flows from developing countries to the Government. One year later, the Commission has released its preliminary report, entitled “Tax havens and development”. The report contains an extensive analysis of the tax havens industry and its impacts on developing countries. It also looks into Norfund investments, a Norwegian investment fund operating in developing countries which uses tax havens in its investment strategies. The report concludes that secrecy and virtually zero tax regimes provided by tax havens have very damaging effects on development and sets out key recommendations to the Norwegian government.http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=3791http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=3791Thu, 23 Jul 2009 15:23:55 GMTNewsEuropean bilateral donorsEurodadCapital FlightEuropeSweden has assumed the EU Presidency in the beginning of July, taking over from Czech Republic. In the area of development policy, the new Swedish presidency has identified three priorities: climate change, democracy building and aid effectiveness.http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=3790http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=3790Wed, 15 Jul 2009 15:34:09 GMTNewsEUEurodadFinancial architectureInternational Financial InstitutionsAid effectivenessGlobalThe Norwagian Debt Campaign, SLUG (Slett U-Landsgjelda) has released an innovative new report which explores the ethical implications of the Norwegian Government’s Pension Fund (GPFP). “Borrow My Pension. The Norwegian Government Pension Fund – A Responsible Lender?” raises serious questions about whether the investments in sovereign bonds by the GPFP meet certain social and ethical standards. The subject to-date has received little attention.http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=3789http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=3789Wed, 15 Jul 2009 15:14:33 GMTNewsEurodadFinancial architectureGlobalhttp://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=3787http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=3787Mon, 13 Jul 2009 12:19:11 GMTNewsEurodadCapital FlightAid accountingInternational Financial InstitutionsDebt sustainabilityGlobalHeard of the Shadow GN or Gsotto? You should. They are not getting as much air time as the G8 but are important counter-weights to that anachronistic forum. The GN is an experts group with Jean-Paul Fitoussi and Joseph Stiglitz. The Gsotto is a special meeting co-organised by Eurodad member CRBM that is taking place down a mine in Sardinia starting tomorrow. This innovative gathering – which you can see streamed live on the internet now - has activists from across the world discussing extractive industries, climate change and the economic crisis. Friday’s programme down that beautiful looking mine shaft by the Sardinian coast will tackle the vital topic of “phasing out the oil economy”  as well as measures to prevent local economic development being undermined by multinational oil, mining and gas companies. Saturday’s interactions – all visible on-line – will cover food sovereignty, purchasing power and distribution of wealth. If you have thoughts on what you see via the web stream, and like me you use Twitter, you can share them there from tomorrow, using the #gsotto tag to identify them so they can appear on a screen in Sardinia and be raised directly to those present in the mine there. The shadow GN report The Ways Out of the Crisis and the Building of a More Cohesive World (PDF) tackles many of the same themes, although in a much more traditional format. It has excellent recommendations on tackling the structural causes of the crisis, on fiscal stimulus, on monetary policy, bailouts, regulation and global economic governance.  They include measures on tax havens, the World Bank and IMF. The shadow GN challenges Mr Berlusconi and the other G8 leaders saying “this year the G's are meeting at a critical moment in history. They could act in such a way that would allow us to get out of this situation, creating a future where growth is more sustainable, friendlier to the environment, and where its fruits would be distributed in a more equitable way, both within and among countries. Otherwise, they will bear an enormous responsibility before history”. Last month I was at a meeting in Rome with an Italian foreign affairs minister and several senior officials organised by the Global Call to Action Against Poverty. Sadly I did not get any sense that we would see any kind of historic announcements at this summit. In the development area at least it seems like small amounts of money and minor special sectoral initiatives will again be the order of the day. Will they be enough to generate good media coverage and distract from the many voices calling for the G8 to accept that it has far outlived its usefulness and legitimacy? I hope not, but journalists are often far too uncritical of this forum, and perhaps seduced by the hospitality and facilities provided for them.http://www.eurodad.org/http://www.eurodad.org/Thu, 2 Jul 2009 11:01:32 GMTBlogCapital Flightfinancial architectureFinance ministers meet in Berlin on Tuesday 23rd June to review the international crackdown on tax havens. The meeting was organised by the French and German finance ministries and was also attended by Hans-Rudolf Merz, Swiss finance minister. Interestingly, this meeting has been the occasion for the UK to announce its support for Country by Country reporting in order to fight aggressive tax avoidance, informs recent article in the Financial Times.  The article explains: “The British Treasury, which is keen to expand the campaign against tax havens to embrace aggressive avoidance, as well as evasion, plans to voice support for a new move towards “country-by-country” reporting. It believes this additional reporting requirement for multinationals would bring more transparency into their negotiations with developing countries on transfer pricing, which determines the allocation of taxable profits between parts of a multinational.” http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=3759http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=3759Fri, 26 Jun 2009 14:46:22 GMTNewsEurodadCapital FlightGlobalIt is quite obvious that the MDGs are off track, particularly in Africa. The financial crisis makes it still harder to meet them, since poor countries suffer from severe financing shortfalls and rich countries prioritize spending their money on bank bail-outs and corporate subsidies rather than on poverty eradication. The UN Millennium Campaign calculates that "the amount of total aid over the past 49 years represents just eleven percent of the money found for financial institutions in one year".However, is now the right time to discuss what will be the next paradigm after the MDGs – six years before their 2015 deadline is due? This is what was discussed at the policy forum "After 2015: Promoting Pro-poor Policy after the MDGs" primarily financed by DFID and jointly organised by EADI, IDS, DSA, The Broker and ActionAid.For many participants at the meeting in Brussels this week, the MDGs seem to be history. This becomes very clear when people speak in past tense on a set of development goals which was hegemonic for almost a decade. But let’s get back to present tense. The MDGs are a small extract of the United Nation’s development agenda, just a small selection of the internationally agreed development goals. Their advantages are the simplicity, the clear deadline and the measurable indicators - excellent for public campaigning, and for holding governments to account. Some of their many disadvantages are a lack of binding targets for the "North"- under MDG 8 - their narrowness and remarkable omissions in particular with regard to social and economic equality and environmental sustainability. This might be part of the reason why it was so easy to find a global consensus on and for the MDGs.Some good points were raised at the Policy Forum, for example Claire Melamed’s (ActionAid) plea for replacing the current development cooperation model based on aid and charity by a global welfare state model, in which each of the world’s citizens has an enforceable right to the basic goods and services needed for a decent life. But in general the participants’ ideas for a "new" post-MDG paradigm were not so new at all. Social and gender equity, rights-based approaches, environmental sustainability – we have heard that before, for example at the United Nations’ conferences in Rio, Copenhagen and Beijing in the 1990s. The problem is that these conference outcomes fell into oblivion, while the simple set of MDGs stayed alive, supported by persistent and professional campaigns such as the UN’s own Millennium Campaign or the CSOs’ Global Call to Action against Poverty.It is definitely not wrong to recall the full UN development agenda and add equity and sustainability in an MDG plus approach, especially because it is very unlikely that poverty reduction targets can be met in a world of limited resources without at the same time addressing excessive wealth concentration. But in the meantime we shouldn’t complicate things and continue to push governments to meet and exceed the MDGs. The policy prescriptions for Northern governments are known: Increase ODA and make it more effective. Immediately cancel all foreign debt for all countries which lack domestic finance for the MDGs, and make trade fair. What the financial crisis has shown is that we need a plus-approach for MDG 8 – so add "close all tax havens and regulate your financial sectors properly." The British government in particular should invest more energy and resources in immediately doing this rather than thinking of a post 2015-paradigm. UK tax havens and the City of London have extracted more wealth from poorer countries than UK aid has ever contributed.http://www.eurodad.org/http://www.eurodad.org/Fri, 26 Jun 2009 10:33:15 GMTBlogCapital Flightfinancial architectureSummary of International Conference organised by Eurodad and ODG, June 2009120 participants from 45 countries gathered in Barcelona from 15-17 June for our conference on development finance at a time of crisis. Representatives of civil society movements, NGOs and think tanks from all regions of the world discussed the status of finance policies and debated messages and tactics to create change.http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=3750http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=3750Fri, 26 Jun 2009 10:23:19 GMTNewsIMFWBEUOECDUNEurodadFinancial architectureMultilateral debtIllegitimate debtPrivate debtInternational Financial InstitutionsDebt sustainabilityCapital FlightAid effectivenessGlobalIn June 1999, 40.000 people demonstrated in Cologne to exercise pressure on G8 leaders who gathered for the G8 summit. They handed over a petition signed by more than 17 million concerned citizens calling on rich country governments to relieve heavily indebted poor countries’ of their foreign debt. Their action resulted in the G8 summit agreeing on the enhanced HIPC debt relief initiative. Although limited and flawed this made some 40 countries eligible for deeper debt relief.http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=3736http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=3736Thu, 25 Jun 2009 16:13:45 GMTNewsG8EurodadFinancial architectureMultilateral debtBilateral debtDebt sustainabilityGlobalMonks used to sit in this Italian church contemplating the bible and the after life. I am debating responsible and democratic finance standards to guard against a new wave of harmful lending to developing countries. Everyone is convinced that the current rules that govern sovereign lending are full of loopholes and flaws, and that the announcements of official moves to fix them are inadequate and not to be trusted. That extends to today's G8 finance ministers pledge to create a so-called Lecce Framework of Principles and Standards for Propriety, Integrity and Transparency.Some think tanks and politicians are arguing that existing social, environmental and procurement standards should be suspended so that money can flow rapidly to stimulate struggling economies. Given the limited amount of money available for developing countries at this time it is vital that it is used well.So the organisations and networks from all the world’s regions who are represented here are discussing principles, practices and measures that will ensure that lending is for useful public purposes, does not violate human rights and contains full accountability checks and balances. The Eurodad Responsible Finance Charter is a starting point, but this is being extended to cover the duties of the borrower and to cover some additional areas which were not so prominent when we drafted the charter in 2007.The discussions are also covering strategies on the IMF (see Eurodad’s briefing released yesterday assessing the difficulties with the IMF’s low-income country lending at this time), the UN (next week’s international conference on the financial crisis impacts on development and the UNCTAD process on odious debt and responsible finance standards). Also the process that Angela Merkel and other G8 leaders have proposed to draft a charter on sustainable economic activity. This task was to be assigned to the OECD, which has conducted an “inventory of international policy tools” in collaboration with the World Bank, IMF, WTO and ILO.From the point of view of the civil society representatives here it will be easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for the OECD - a rich countries club – to produce a legitimate and effective new global standard. Todays' finance ministers meeting seems to agree in that it says that existing standards by the OECD, World Bank etc "suffer from insufficient country participation and/or commitment". How they will achieve this remains unclear. The G8 finance ministers communique (PDF) states only "we are committed to working with our international partners to make progress with the Lecce Framework, with a view to reaching out to broader fora, including the G20 and beyond".The G8 approach describes the coverage of their proposed 'Lecce Framework', as "to create a comprehensive framework, building on existing initiatives, to identify and fill regulatory gaps and foster the broad international consensus needed for rapid implementation".  It mentions its coverage as extending to "corporate governance, market integrity, financial regulation and supervision, tax cooperation, and transparency of macroeconomic policy and data".Here in the NGO meeting on responsible finance organised by Eurodad and allies, more faith is being placed in the United Nations conference on the financial crisis and development. Unfortunately the European Union and others are blocking progress on key elements at this UN summit, but there is a concerted effort going on to find a breakthrough. Eurodad staff, several members, and other allies will be present at the summit in New York in 10 days time. Both the venue and the ambience will certainly be different from here in Collevechio.http://www.eurodad.org/http://www.eurodad.org/Sat, 13 Jun 2009 12:40:45 GMTBlogCapital Flightfinancial architectureThe President of the General Assembly announced yesterday that the Conference on Financial and Economic Crisis and its Impact on Development has been postponed and will now be held on 24 – 26 June. According to diplomatic sources, the postponement is due to the fact that several heads of state that wanted to take part could not come on the original dates of 1-3 June. Another factor is that there is little time left to negotiate an outcome document, since negotiations on the outcome document only began last week. http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=3666http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=3666Thu, 28 May 2009 10:56:51 GMTNewsUNEurodadFinancial architectureGlobalYesterday Eurodad organised presentations in Brussels by members of the UN Commission of Experts on Reforms of the International Monetary and Financial System. The speeches by the members of the so-called ‘Stiglitz Commission’ – a senior official from India and a leading academic from China – were a breath of fresh air compared to many of the exchanges that we have heard in this city in recent weeks.In my introduction I said that the contrast with the EU’s De Larosiere High Level Group could not be clearer. The EU included only people who have been part of the financial system that has now collapsed. The UN General Assembly president convened people with knowledge of the system but independent thinking about its problems.Speaking yesterday at the Eurodad/Friedrich Ebert Stiftung meeting in Brussels Yaga Venugopal Reddy, Former Governor of the Reserve Bank of India, regretted that politicians are currently stressing the stimulus and “do not want any diversion from that”. He said there deliberations were not just on the short-term, however. Indeed: “the main challenge by the Stiglitz group is to fight for the nature, the fundamental aspects of the crisis response”.The Commission’s diagnosis in their draft report says “the current crisis has exposed deficiencies in the policies of some national authorities and international institutions based on previously fashionable economic doctrines, which held that unfettered markets are, on their own, quickly self-correcting and efficient. Globalization too was constructed on these flawed hypotheses; and while it has brought benefits to many, it has also enabled defects in one economic system to spread quickly around the world, bringing recessions and impoverization even to developing countries”Also speaking yesterday Yu Yongding, Director of the Institute of World Economics and Politics and former Member of Monetary Policy Committee, People’s Bank of said that governments were right to be worried about speculative attacks on their currencies. Experiences from the Asia crisis last decade, and more recently showed why reserves needed to be built up. But the large reserves and dramatic imbalances have been deflationary and caused instability. The increasing inequality in many countries also contributed to depressing demand and provoking the crisis.The Commission’s draft conclusions say that regulatory reform cannot wait and must be accompanied by moves towards “deeper systemic reforms”. These include moves to introduce a new global reserve system, reforms of IFI governance, the introduction of a Global Economic Coordination Council under the United Nations.Also, and more innovatively, they propose a new credit facility with a more balanced governance than the current World Bank and IMF.  Also a Financial Products Safety Commission, modelled on the Food and Drug Administration and similar agencies, to ensure that financial products are assessed before being put on the market. And, finally, they suggest mimicking the successful example of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a similar panel could be created to offer consultancy to the General Assembly and ECOSOC, but also to other international organizations to enhance their capacity for sound decision-making in these areas.These institutional reform proposals go beyond what is currently acceptable to politicians, as our speakers repeatedly recognised yesterday. Francois Houtart, a third member of the UNGA/Stiglitz Commission panel also joined the meeting yesterday, though too late to make a full speech. His question, based on his years of work questioning the ethics of the current globalisation model, was “we need to repair the [economic and financial] machine, but what for?” He urged a much broader debate on the nature of development and the prevailing economic logic. We’ve today received a new version of the draft outcome document for the UN summit on the World Economic and Financial Crisis and its Impact on Development. This will take place from 1-3 June. Some of the proposals in the Stiglitz Commission do find their way in there. For example the one for a new credit facility to channel funds to low-income countries, and a new global reserve currency system based on the SDR. There are also proposals on tax havens and on IMF governance as well as a timetable for producing the “Charter for Sustainable Economic Activity” (see our previous post) no later than 15 April 2010. This is something that Eurodad and many allies from across the world will be discussing at a meeting in Italy from 12-14 June. We don’t just want to push for sustainable economic activity, but for sovereign, democratic and responsible finance.As we reported last week, however, many of the outcome document’s points seem like copy and paste from other documents, and far too modest given the nature and scale of the crisis. It looks like this conference will certainly fall far behind the expectations raised by the Stiglitz Commission or by the UNCTAD preparatory conference this week in Geneva where my colleague Nuria Molina spoke.http://www.eurodad.org/http://www.eurodad.org/Wed, 20 May 2009 17:22:23 GMTBlogCapital Flightfinancial architectureEurodad's Nuria Molina was one of the speakers at a symposium organised by UNCTAD in Geneva this week on the financial crisis. She interpreted the impacts of the crisis and the limited and disappointing response to date by the IMF and the private sector.http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=3644http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=3644Tue, 19 May 2009 09:43:08 GMTNewsIMFOECDEurodadInternational Financial InstitutionsAid effectivenessFinancial architectureGlobalIn its response to new challenges for development cooperation caused by the world financial and economic crisis, the European Commission is putting forward a “Whole of the Union” approach. This would mean that not just ODA but also export credits, investment guarantees and technology transfers are counted towards the EU’s development contribution. Trade and investment promotion instruments shall be used to leverage foreign private investment in developing countries. The current Italian G8 presidency is promoting a similar proposal, and seeks endorsement by other G8 members. It’s “whole of country” approach to development is supposed to create the conditions for governments, private companies and civil society groups to contribute effectively to development. While Eurodad and many other CSOs welcome the recognition that development is about much more than aid spending, there are significant concerns that the new broader approaches are limited and flawed.http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=3639http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=3639Thu, 14 May 2009 10:10:26 GMTNewsEUOECDEurodadFinancial architectureGlobalOn June 1-3, the President of the General Assembly (PGA) is convening the UN Conference on the World Financial and Economic Crisis and its Impact on Development. It is a direct outcome of  the UN Conference on Financing for Development held in Doha last November, and an important victory for developing countries and CSOs. In fact, the most contentious issue in the section on “Systemic Issues” of the Doha Outcome Document (DOD), if not of the whole negotiating process, was that of the need to convene a conference under the UN umbrella to address the effects of the financial crisis on developing countries (paragraph 79 of the DOD).   http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=3622http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=3622Thu, 7 May 2009 18:34:49 GMTNewsUNEurodadFinancial architectureGlobalOn April 24 the European Parliament approved a resolution on the conclusions of the April 2 G20 London summit. While the text generally welcomes all the outcomes of the summit, there are a few issues on which the European Parliament calls for stronger measures at the European and global levels.http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=3610http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=3610Thu, 30 Apr 2009 09:45:26 GMTNewsWBEUOECDEurodadFinancial architectureGlobalOn my only visit to Singapore I was horrified to read scrolling text on TV channels announcing “Singapore top in governance league table – World Bank”. Especially as several colleagues from our network and other NGOs we work with had just been banned by the Singaporean authorities from entering the territory at the time of the World Bank and IMF annual meetings. At that time (2006) it seemed almost impossible that the World Bank would change its “Costs of Doing Business” annual report and ranking exercise. But this week it did. Two key elements of the methodology are being reviewed and changed: the “Employing Worker” indicator and “Paying Taxes”.http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=3608http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=3608Thu, 30 Apr 2009 08:41:50 GMTNewsWBEurodadInternational Financial InstitutionsDebt sustainabilityCapital FlightGlobalThe World Bank has just announced a major change of policy on investment. It produces every year an influential annual report and ranking exercise which emphasises minimising costs to business. That those costs fall on workers, ordinary citizens, the environment did not seem to bother the Bank until now. The importance of the Bank's analysis and details of the changes it has announced are outlined in my other article of today.But why did the Bank make this change, and why now?It follows a long-standing campaign by trade unionists. That was not enough, though. The real reason seems to be that the House Financial Services Committee weighed in with criticisms, and threatened to withold payments to the World Bank's IDA window if the Doing Business indicators and report was not changed. Now that the Democrats are in the ascendancy on Capitol Hill and in the administration, and the trade unions are seen as key allies, the Bank could no longer resist the pressure.The House Financial Services Committee this week issued a release on the matter. It points out that the Committee "held a hearing to examine the approach to worker rights in the Doing Business Report, during which the Committee received strongly critical testimony of the report from representatives of the AFL-CIO, the International Trade Union Confederation, and the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. In June, the Financial Services Committee approved legislation authorizing $3.7 billion for the World Bank Group that included a call for reforms to the labor and paying taxes aspects of the Doing Business Report".Committee chair Barney Frank, a longstanding World Bank critic, did not stop there. "Frank also spoke directly to IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn and World Bank President Robert Zoellick about his concerns with the Report, particularly given its increasing global mandate and scope, and the many channels through which Doing Business is being given force".A 2008 report by the Bank's Independent Evaluation Group Doing Business: An Independent Evaluation (PDF) added to the discomfort of Bank senior management. This report argued, undeniably, that "Since regulations generate social benefits as well as private costs, what is good for an individual firm is not necessarily good for the economy or society as a whole. Therefore, policy implications are not always clear-cut, and the right level and type of regulation is a matter of policy choice in each country". As "data are provided by few informants, with some data points for a country generated by just one or two firms" the analysis is badly skewed. The evaluation report concluded that it was "of particular concern [that] the paying taxes indicator relies exclusively on a single firm to provide both the underlying methodology and the data for 142 countries". That firm is PricewaterhouseCoopers.Michael Klein, the smart German who is the mastermind behind Doing Business must be smarting indeed that this report he initiated and championed is now being questioned and unpicked.I am digging for further insights into the back story of exactly how this step forward was achieved. I have hints that there were a tough set of discussions inside the Bank. Once I find out more and determine what can be published I'll post again, as it is always interesting to determine how change takes place in large institutions such as the World Bank. Meanwhile feel free to add your views and insights as comments here.Note: Eurodad staffer Nuria Molina also gave evidence on the World Bank last year to Barney Frank's House Financial Services Committee. Her points were on economic policy conditionality, but Eurodad's concerns about one-sided, deleterious World Bank advice and pressure to reform overlap with those of the unions, even if the transmission mechanisms are slightly different.http://www.eurodad.org/http://www.eurodad.org/Thu, 30 Apr 2009 07:51:30 GMTBlogCapital Flightfinancial architectureThe world's poor are being hard hit by a crisis for which they are not responsible. Low income countries will face a financing gap of hundreds of billions of dollars this year. More than $2 trillion have been found to boost Northern economies and emerging markets. Yet richer countries have committed just over five percent of the additional development finance required to compensate low-income countries for the shock they face resulting from this crisis.http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=3599http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=3599Tue, 21 Apr 2009 10:38:04 GMTNewsIMFWBEurodadFinancial architectureGlobalSome interesting views on the G20 and G8 from Asian activists at a meeting on the financial crisis I attended in Malaysia this week. None of them complimentary.Several speakers at the meeting – held at the National Union of Banking Employees training centre in Port Dickson - said that the media in their countries had almost no coverage of anything that Asian leaders said at the G20 and only focussed on the fact that they had managed to shake Barrack Obama’s hand. Some of the Asian leaders (also Europeans, as Barroso showed at a meeting in Brussels the other day) were carried away with pride to have been invited and forgot to organize a proper negotiating strategy. There was certainly none of the pushiness from the so-called BRIC group of countries that was seen for example at the Cancun or Seattle trade talks.Indeed one speaker here said that the G20 as a format was announced just a week or so after the Seattle trade talks in 1999 and that it has aimed to divide and conquer developing countries, bringing in what it calls “systemically important” ones to split them off from weaker ones and prevent a developing country block being formed for trade negotiations.Vinod Raina, an activist and author from India commented that the G20 was an attempt to “co-opt governments into a problem they didn’t create – the financial crisis”. He continued that perhaps the principle of “honour amongst thieves” will now prevent the leaders who travelled to Washington and London from splitting off and publicly challenging the major world powers. All agree that the G20 provided no paradigm shift and that Gordon Brown’s hyperbolic new world order assertions from the London Summit sound ridiculous from here. Also that Europeans governments were amazingly over-represented at the summit, have added more positions at the Financial Stability Board, and have only conceded marginal power in international institutions such as the World |Bank and IMF. Writing in today’s Guardian Martin Jacques has a different perspective. He refers to a meeting of BRIC central bank chiefs and finance ministers before the G20 and says “the IMF and the World Bank will be subject to reform, with the developing countries acquiring a greater say”. Beverley Keene, speaking for Jubilee South at the Malaysia financial crisis meeting, poked fun at the G20 website which claims, amazingly, that “the G-20 has progressed a range of issues since 1999, including agreement about policies for growth, reducing abuse of the financial system, dealing with financial crises”. My presentation at the meeting discussed the financial reform processes underway in Europe, including the flawed De Larosiere process, the public mood including protests against bank bonuses, and Eurodad's reaction to the G20. My comment that the fiscal stimulus represents an attempt to get people to "shop their way out of the financial crisis without shifting towards a more sustainable economic model" got some interesting reactions. As for the G-7 – both Raina and Jacques agree that it is clearly a complete anachronism. Raina urged that people pull together to help send the G-7/G-8 concept “to bottom of the sea in Sardinia” when the leaders meet there, hopefully for the last time, in July this year. Our Italian member organisation CRBM is organising a series of meetings in Rome to discuss the G8's failings, including a public meeting on 11 June in parallel to the G7 finance ministers.http://www.eurodad.org/http://www.eurodad.org/Mon, 20 Apr 2009 12:11:08 GMTBlogCapital Flightfinancial architectureCosta Rica, Malaysia, Philippines and Uruguay. These were the only four jurisdictions which appeared in the OECD black list published on April 2, the day of the G20 summit. “They have now officially informed the OECD that they commit to co-operate in the fight against tax abuse. As a result, they have been moved to the category of “jurisdictions that have committed to the internationally agreed tax standard, but have not yet substantially implemented”, reads the OECD press release of less than one week later. This means no black spots are left on the tax havens list.http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=3595http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=3595Thu, 16 Apr 2009 10:54:56 GMTNewsWBEUOECDEurodadFinancial architectureCapital FlightGlobalOn the 8th of April the EC released its annual communication package “Supporting Developing Countries in Coping with the Crisis”. Eurodad has summarized and analysed the main elements on four issues central to our work: aid effectiveness, debt, reform of international financial institutions, and taxation.http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=3583http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=3583Fri, 10 Apr 2009 13:25:20 GMTNewsIMFWBEUOECDUNEurodadInternational Financial InstitutionsAid effectivenessAid accountingCapital FlightGlobalSome of the G20 London summit comments from across the web we think you'll find interesting.Dani Nabudere on Pambazuka News writes that "There is no point in ‘reforming’ the financial architecture when everything else will remain in place. There is no need to call for strong ‘supervision’ of the banks, when those using their political power are still in a position to manipulate them for their own interests. The real question is: ‘Who will supervise the supervisors?’ Therefore we need recognition of alternative credit systems".Mary Robinson, former president of Ireland and determined human rights advocate says she is "worried about what the outcome of this G20 Summit will be for poor developing countries". She continues: "Article 28 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. [is] very short: 'Everyone is entitled to a social and international order in which the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration can be fully realized.' Today, I see our 'social and international order' unraveling. There have been food riots. There will be others. The financial crisis is having a profound de-stablising effect. I believe that the security concern is an extremely strong one".Richard Murphy, on Tax Justice Research, has the latest on the tax havens issue, including a supplementary document issued by the G20. He concludes "I am assured right now that the developing country issue I highlight should be seen as an opportunity for innovation, for bringing forward serious changes to TIEAs and to bring in multilateral exchange agreements. The UN has its status endorsed on this issue, as I predicted. The commitments to enhanced regulation will, I hope deliver. But the developing country issue is key. It’s the focus of the next round of work". Eurodad will certainly be active on that.Ann Pettifor, former head of the Jubilee 2000 debt campaign writes on Huffington Post: "The Summit Communique makes plenty of fine noises about being kind to the poor. ... There were similar sound-bytes, and similar commitments made at the Edinburgh G8 Summit in 2005 - commitments yet to be fully honored". And, on the IMF, "much was made by Gordon Brown of the re-financing of the IMF -- the most loathed and marginalized of international financial institutions. The motivation is clear: the IMF is a Euro-Atlantic institution, and the Europeans want its finances bolstered so that the economies on the fringe of Europe -- like Hungary, Latvia, Ireland, Iceland and Greece -- can be prevented from bringing down the whole of the European project, and with it the Euro".Add your further links in the comments below. (Also to non-English comments).http://www.eurodad.org/http://www.eurodad.org/Fri, 3 Apr 2009 07:58:44 GMTBlogCapital Flightfinancial architecturePolitical leaders did not agree ground-breaking measures to combat inequality or unsustainability or to transform global economic governance as had been suggested at the start of the enhanced G20 process last year. Yet the amount of money being pledged for developing countries is more than expected, if less than required. And on tax havens there are some useful steps forward, even if the model of information exchange will prevent many developing countries taking advantage of it.http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=3539http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=3539Thu, 2 Apr 2009 18:29:59 GMTNewsIMFWBExport Credit AgenciesG8EurodadFinancial architectureAid accountingInternational Financial InstitutionsCapital FlightGlobalFrom the ExCel, G20 Leaders Summit London – MP Steven Timms, under-secretary on finance of the UK Treasury, stated a few minutes ago that “the era of banking secrecy is over” and the remarkable process achieved on exchanging information with some tax havens has already been a result of the G20 process.It is a pity that apparently the era of secrecy around the list of which are the tax havens to name and shame and eventually sanction will not be over today at the G20 summit. As a matter of  fact, the whole negotiation on the issue still spins around who should draft the list – just the OECD? China is not keen. Also which criteria will be used and most importantly by when will this list be finalised?We are almost back to square one, when a first list of tax havens produced at the end of the last decade finally produced no change.In the meantime France and Germany claim not to be alone in their action to press for strong measures on tax havens: Brazil is said to be supporting them, and Berlusconi also. He knows tax havens well from his past and current business.Elsewhere on the blogs Alex Evans on Global Dashboard reports a discussion just now with UK officials. His readout: "A big fight is underway on tax havens. Sarkozy's going in hard for tough language. But China is against as it's worried about the effect on Hong Kong and Macao. Gordon Brown is looking for a compromise. The Czech presidency has been 'unhelpful'".Richard Murphy, also inside the Excel building, quotes UK junior treasury minister Stephen Timms saying "I'm expecting sanctions, and in due course a listing".http://www.eurodad.org/http://www.eurodad.org/Thu, 2 Apr 2009 12:22:40 GMTBlogCapital Flightfinancial architectureEurodad research released today shows that the G20 is likely to announce tomorrow just one twentieth of the finance required to compensate developing countries for their losses as a result of the crisis. And of the $12 billion being made available for low-income countries, less than $300 million is additional to existing aid pledges. The question of supporting low income country economies which are victims of a crisis that is no fault of their own is low down the priority list for political leaders.http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=3525http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=3525Wed, 1 Apr 2009 16:30:10 GMTNewsIMFWBEUEuropean bilateral donorsEurodadAid accountingAid effectivenessInternational Financial InstitutionsFinancial architectureGlobalNicolas Sarkozy a annoncé ce jeudi son intention de traiter le problème de la dette des pays africains lors du G20 du 2 avril prochain. Etant donné le risque grandissant d’une nouvelle crise de la dette pour beaucoup de pays pauvres ceci est certes une bonne nouvelle… pour autant que ca ne devienne pas une discussion focalisée uniquement sur la Chine. Des mesures ambitieuses pour résoudre durablement le problème de la dette s’imposent aujourd’hui plus que jamais et le G20 doit prendre ses responsabilités.Le président français s’adressait au parlement congolais avec fermeté : « J'ai bien l'intention de poser au G20 la question de la dette africaine ». Mais il a été tout aussi clair en ajoutant : « pour peu que vous acceptiez (…) que, si certains pays parmi les plus riches du monde remettent votre dette, il ne faut pas alors que vous vous réendettiez avec d'autres dans des conditions moins bonnes encore que celles que vous avez connues à notre époque ».Le message est clair. Certes, le rôle de la Chine en Afrique a fait couler beaucoup d’encre sur les conditions liées à ses investissements, le respect des droits humains, etc. Mais est-il légitime de s’acharner sur un pays sans reconnaitre ouvertement ses propres défauts ? Par ailleurs, n’est ce pas aussi une question de concurrence entre les intérêts économiques chinois et ceux de la France ou d’autres puissances occidentales, installées depuis bien long temps dans le continent africain ?Sarkozy ajoutait dans son discours qu’il « ne s’agit pas de reproche à l'endroit de personne mais ma conception de la justice, c'est 'les mêmes règles pour chacun ». Et pourtant, la dette illégitime reste encore une question taboue pour beaucoup de pays occidentaux, y compris la France. Des avancées ont vu le jour ces dernières années avec la Norvège et l’audit intégral de la dette en Equateur mais beaucoup reste à faire.C’est pourquoi les organisations de la société civile demandent des audits de dettes et des règles justes et claires, ex ante et ex post pour les créanciers et débiteurs, afin d’établir un cadre international de financement responsable. Dans ce sens, Eurodad a produit une charte de financement responsable dont les clauses pourraient servir de base à un tel cadre.Dans ce contexte de crise les pays pauvres, surtout les plus pauvres et dépendants de quelques exportations, seront le plus gravement frappés par des nouvelles crises de dette. Des mesures urgentes s’imposent, à commencer par l’arrêt du service de la dette afin de permettre aux pays de destiner ces ressources pour faire face à la crise.Mais au-delà des mesures d’urgence, il est grand temps de prendre des mesures structurelles come la mise en place d’un mécanisme impartial et transparent de résolution de dette, comme demandent beaucoup d’ONGs dont Eurodad. Les leaders du G20 devraient également se faire écho des recommandations de la commission d’experts de Nations Unies dont la mise en place d’un Tribunal indépendant de faillite. Voilà les vraies questions sur la dette qui devraient être abordées par Monieur Sarkozy et par le G20.http://www.eurodad.org/http://www.eurodad.org/Fri, 27 Mar 2009 18:25:31 GMTBlogCapital Flightfinancial architectureThe momentum is strong for action on tax havens (see Secrecy jurisdictions under pre G20 pressure) and the tax evasion industry they feed. Yet what can we really expect from the G20 summit? An effective combat against illicit flows and tax evasion will require strong, concrete and binding measures to be applied at the global level. The proposals by Gordon Brown and others rely on the OECD as the enforcing body. But this body only represents industrialised countries. The plethora of existing bilateral agreements that Jersey, Andorra, and yesterday Monaco are rushing to sign on tax information exchange will not make a big difference. Automatic exchange of information is needed at the multilateral level. Also, the information exchange model upon request, used by OECD, where the burden of the proof falls upon the requesting party, will prove burdensome to implement. Richer countries will struggle to produce requests about their citizens or companies who may have hidden money offshore. Imagine how hard it would be for the many poor countries with very weak administrations. Automatic exchange of information should therefore be the rule. A global response also means targeting big financial centers of which many of the small tax havens are mere satellites. Otherwise we will just be assisting a blame and shame policy towards some small territories and countries while legitimizing the bigger players, such as the City of London. As the Tax Justice Network blog explains – based on the experience with OECD blacklists ten years ago - the idea may be to: “whip up a storm of righteous anger saying (with considerable justification) that these microstates are being victimised and the big countries need to clean up their houses too; then use this manifest unfairness, combined with aggressive lobbying, to de-legitimise the entire process, leading to the collapse or enfeeblement of the whole project”. A recent study quoted in Richard Murphy’s blog emphasizes that respectable members of the OECD should be also in the spotlight. “Its conclusion is doubly embarrassing for members of the G20 currently leading the hunt for tax evasion. First, it is easy to transfer money anonymously, despite all the rules of conduct and the conventions. Second, and more surprisingly, countries where the misuse of rules is easiest are not the exotic islands, Switzerland or Liechtenstein - but the United States and Great Britain.”Activists are planning further letters, advocacy and media work in the coming days to emphasise the need for stronger measures to ensure effective action, not just any action on the havens.http://www.eurodad.org/http://www.eurodad.org/Fri, 27 Mar 2009 16:49:54 GMTBlogCapital Flightfinancial architectureThe gigantic sums of money which rich countries’ governments pump into financial sector bailouts, make their aid levels look more and more ridiculous. In a note to the meeting of G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors, the International Monetary Fund indicated that headline support to the financial sector by advanced economies had already reached 43.12% of their GDP (!) by the 18th of February 2008, and the crisis is not yet over.  This impressive amount is made up of five different parts:1. Capital injections (2.90% of advanced economies’ GDP) 2. Purchase of assets and lending by treasury (5.20%) 3. Central bank support provided with treasury backing (1.34%) 4. Liquidity provision and other support by central bank (13.93%) 5. Guarantees (19.74%)In comparison, the official development assistance (ODA) which has been provided in 2007 by the 22 member states of the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) reached a mere 0.28% of their GNI.  When the DAC unveils the ODA data for 2008 in the beginning of next week, we will most probably see that rich countries’ engagement for the fight against poverty has not significantly increased. Even more shocking: at current aid levels the actual and potential costs of bank bailouts equals their official development assistance of 154 years!http://www.eurodad.org/http://www.eurodad.org/Mon, 23 Mar 2009 14:32:52 GMTBlogCapital Flightfinancial architectureThe financial crisis has definitely put tax havens on the spotlight. In the run up to the G20 London summit on 2 April, secrecy jurisdictions are on the front pages of most newspapers. This has risen to the top of the agenda after an apparent change of position by G20 host Gordon Brown, who wants to announce concrete measures at his meeting. European countries and territories with tax haven regimes have been forced to react – announcing a series of new measures in recent days.http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=3478http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=3478Thu, 19 Mar 2009 10:30:20 GMTNewsEUEurodadFinancial architectureGlobalEurodad has today seen the draft conclusions of the EU's Spring Summit to be held in Brussels on 9 and 10 March. One interesting proposal is a Global Charter for Sustainable Economic Activity. This was first raised by Angela Merkel at the Berlin summit on 22 February to prepare the G20. Neither we nor some members or officials we've quickly checked with know what that may mean, though.The clues we have are that this is in the document section on strengthening governments' ability to manage and prevent crises at the global level. This means that 'sustainability' must mean payability, rather than environmental balance. The document says the charter would be "based on market forces, but preventing excesses, as a first step towards a set of global governance standards". That is very unclear.But, hoping that this is something of an empty vessel waiting to be filled, Eurodad is happy to draw European leaders' attention to our Responsible Finance Charter. This was launched in January 2008. Its aims? To go beyond the limited debt sustainability approach promoted by the World Bank and IMF. Instead we wanted "to provide guidance, fairness and certainties to borrower states and lenders as well as protect the citizens and environments of developing nations" by "outlines the essential components of a responsible loan. These aim to ensure that terms and conditions are fair, that the loan contraction process is transparent, that human rights and environments of recipient nations are respected and repayment difficulties or disputes are resolved fairly and efficiently".We will be very happy to get elucidation (in the comments, below) from any readers who know about this proposed new Sustainable Economic Activity Charter, or indeed any thoughts about what you think of Eurodad's one.For a more detailed analysis of what we hear European leaders are preparing as their crisis response for developing countries, see our article of today EU crisis response plan for development revealed ahead of key summits. http://www.eurodad.org/http://www.eurodad.org/Fri, 13 Mar 2009 16:08:05 GMTBlogCapital Flightfinancial architectureEuropean Union institutions and Member states are preparing actively for the London G20 summit on 2 April. EU finance ministers met this week and several of them will meet again at the G20 finance ministers summit in the UK this weekend. EU heads of state will hold their Spring summit on 19 and 20 March. Eurodad has learned of the contents of the draft heads of state communiqué and of the Commission (DG Development’s) Spring communication due out on 8 April. Eurodad has been informed of the status of the discussions and is worried about the limited attention to development policies, few new initiatives but some useful reforms on financial transparency.http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=3463http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=3463Fri, 13 Mar 2009 15:49:11 GMTNewsIMFEUEurodadInternational Financial InstitutionsIllegitimate debtDebt sustainabilityFinancial architecturePrivate debtConditionalityGlobalCampaigners from across Europe hold a public meeting with residents on the UK crown dependency Jersey to raise concerns about tax avoidance and evasion undermining public services in Europe and developing countrieshttp://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=3461http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=3461Thu, 12 Mar 2009 14:47:35 GMTNewsUNEurodadFinancial architectureGlobalGordon Brown stunned analysts and campaigners working on tax havens by telling the US Congress in a major speech yesterday “how much safer would everybody's savings be if the whole world finally came together to outlaw shadow banking systems and outlaw offshore tax havens?" Brown is the latest in a series of heads of state to back such measures. This week also the German government hosted a meeting to discuss a new initiative to strengthen developing country tax regimes. Tax evasion and avoidance are getting the recognition they deserve and a significant initiative is being prepared for the G20. To build further the pressure for action Eurodad is next week co-organising a major event in Jersey, a tax haven just 180 miles from London where the 2 April financial crisis summit will be heldhttp://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=3450http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=3450Thu, 5 Mar 2009 13:56:37 GMTNewsEurodadCapital FlightGlobalI hear that Gordon Brown was the only European leader to mention development at last weekend’s informal European summit (Euractiv summary, official invitation). The other 26 leaders remained inward-looking (photo).To ensure the ECOFIN Council meeting in March does differently Development Commissioner Louis Michel has asked to attend. He wants, usefully, to inform finance ministers of the many problems developing countries are facing as a result of the financial and economic crises. But Czech finance minister Miroslav Kalousek is apparently vetoing the idea, considering development unimportant at a time when many former communist bloc countries are struggling day by day to avert currency meltdowns, stagflation and similar economic woes. (Not that it’s the most reliable indicator, but it’s depressing that searching the official EU presidency website this morning yielded no mentions of the word development. More’s the pity – you would think recent economic events in that region would encourage more empathy with other regions of the world that have struggled with similar economic and social dramas (i.e. Argentina earlier this decade). Or to find common cause with others facing a crisis caused not by them but by Western Europe and the USA. One clear overlap issue is the rapid withdrawal of capital by private banks, many of them European. The FT last week gave BIS figures showing that three quarters of bank loans to emerging markets originate from European banks. Giving a talk yesterday at the Friends of Europe Global Development Forum meeting I paraphrased the Euro 96 ‘Football’s coming home’ song, saying in 2009 ‘capital is coming home’. A representative of Standard Chartered bank agreed this is a real concern. But even if development won’t be on the official ECOFIN agenda, it certainly will be at the alternative ECOFIN conference in Prague on 30 March and 1 April. This event, being organised by Eurodad member GLOPOLIS with assistance from Eurodad and other groups, will bring together an all star cast of analysts and activists knowledgeable about the financial crisis, its causes, consequences and remedies. We hope to see you there – and will ensure strong messages are passed to finance ministers and heads of state to persuade them that a Europe first agenda will severely damage Europe’s reputation and directly damage our interests. A key text for the conference will be Glopolis’ excellent new manifesto for the Czech EU presidency (PDF). A taster: “the litmus test of the economic and financial reforms to be adopted in response to the crisis should be whether they bring more control over food, fuel and finance to poor communities, whether they increase the stability of the climate and not just the economy, and whether they lead to sustainable and equitable, not just increased consumption.”http://www.eurodad.org/http://www.eurodad.org/Wed, 4 Mar 2009 08:51:08 GMTBlogCapital Flightfinancial architectureFormer Haitian President Jean-Claude Duvaller, who ruled Haiti between 1971 and 1986, could not prove lawful origin of his 7.6 million Swiss francs (approximately 5.1 million euros), which have been frozen in Swiss accounts since 2002.  He now has 30 days to appeal the Federal Office of Justice (FOJ) before the Swiss Justice Ministry’s decision is enacted and the money is sent to Haiti to be spent on projects benefiting the Haitian people. http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=3323http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=3323Tue, 17 Feb 2009 11:00:11 GMTNewsEurodadMultilateral debtIllegitimate debtCapital FlightGlobalThe recent European Financial Services Conference in Brussels brought together major players from European banks and investment companies as well as two European Commissioners, senior MEPs and over 400 others. Introducing the meeting John Houston, an experienced Brussels financial services lobbyist, recognised that his clients’ “reputations have been savaged”. Several speakers commented on EU regulation plans and on preparations for the April G-20 summit in London.http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=3278http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=3278Wed, 4 Feb 2009 09:07:31 GMTNewsEurodadCapital FlightFinancial architectureGlobalThere is no doubt that the financial crisis will have vast implications for developing countries. The world’s poor are going to be seriously affected by a crisis they have not contributed to create, and they run the risk of being left out from key global discussions to fix the flawed international monetary and financial system. Even though the G20 is broader than the G8 any reform which excludes most of the world’s nations is doom to fail: it will lack the necessary legitimacy to set the scene for a new era of fairer economic and financial relations worldwide. Two UN processes offer hope for a more inclusive process, including an opportunity for civil society groups to input.http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=3271http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=3271Thu, 22 Jan 2009 16:18:13 GMTNewsUNEurodadCapital FlightFinancial architectureGlobalIn the context of the unfolding financial and economic crises, the need for concerted European Union action is a hot topic. A new independent study examines existing EU institutional mechanisms and argues for reform to enable greater citizen scrutiny. Decision-making processes on financial market supervision and regulation have remained obscure to most European citizens. The Eurodad network together with three European NGOs active on financial liberalisation issues for many years[1] present for the first time a systematic attempt to shed light on this crucial area. The study, by Myriam van der Stichele - expert on private banks at Dutch think tank SOMO - shows a fragmented, chaotic system and a fundamental lack of democracy, accountability and transparency in European decision-making processes on financial markets related issues.http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/reports.aspx?id=3268http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/reports.aspx?id=3268Thu, 22 Jan 2009 15:29:17 GMTReportsEurodadCapital FlightGlobalThe global financial crisis that erupted in 2008 will have dramatic consequences for all countries during 2009 and beyond. The impacts will be economic, social, environmental and political. The developing world, which is a victim rather than a cause of this crisis, has been marginalised in many of the discussions to date, but is now becoming very directly affected.http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=3237http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=3237Fri, 9 Jan 2009 14:27:58 GMTNewsEurodadCapital FlightFinancial architectureGlobalThe UN Financing for Development Conference starting in Doha on Saturday 29 November is threatening to confirm that financing the needs of impoverished people worldwide is not a priority for rich countries in times of crisis. Some 3 to 6 trillion US dollars have been made available to bail out the rich country banks and encourage consumers to start spending again. Whatever the benefits of these measures, they must deliver on their international commitments.http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=3164http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=3164Fri, 28 Nov 2008 12:37:24 GMTNewsParis ClubUNEurodadFinancial architectureAid effectivenessInternational Financial InstitutionsGlobalOn October 21, French Budget minister and German Finance minister convened a conference on the fight against international tax evasion and avoidance, with the aim to discuss how to respond to offshore non-compliance with their tax laws.http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=3088http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=3088Wed, 12 Nov 2008 13:51:37 GMTNewsEurodadCapital FlightGlobalEurodad opened its General Assembly on November 5th with a training session on financial markets and their impact on development by Sargon Nissan, from the New Economics Foundation (UK) and Myriam Vander Stichele, from SOMO (The Netherlands).http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/reports.aspx?id=3076http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/reports.aspx?id=3076Mon, 10 Nov 2008 10:38:54 GMTReportsEurodadFinancial architectureCapital FlightGlobalPreparations for the global financial reform summit are hotting up. EU leaders, who met in Brussels today, will apparently call on the Nov. 15 global finance meeting to agree immediately on five principles.http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=3072http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=3072Fri, 7 Nov 2008 16:32:59 GMTNewsIMFWBEUEurodadFinancial architectureCapital FlightGlobal“Do you enjoy rising prices? Everybody talks about commodities – with the Agriculture Euro Fund you can benefit from the increase in value of the seven most important agricultural commodities.” With this advertisement the Deutsche Bank tried in spring 2008 to attract clients for one of its investment funds. At the same time, there were hunger revolts in Haiti, Cameroon and other developing countries, because many poor could no longer pay the exploding food prices. In fact, between the end of 2006 and March 2008 the prices for the seven most important commodities went up by 71 per cent on average, for rice and grain the increase was 126 per cent. 1http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=3032http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=3032Fri, 24 Oct 2008 17:09:16 GMTNewsEurodadCapital FlightGlobalThe present financial crisis clearly shows the limits and dangers of an opaque, irresponsible and unregulated financial system. As the food products and raw materials prices shock has already shown, the effects of the global crisis on the real economy and social welfare is  strongly amplified in developing countries. Under these circumstances, the already minimalist agenda of the Millennium Development Goals risks being definitely out of reach for most developing countries. Today the context shows the need for the establishment of a stable, transparent and well regulated financial system that works for development.  Europe has a key role to play in developing a bold new approach on taxation. The privatisation of profits and socialisation of losses that we are witnessing these weeks show the need for new policies.http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=3028http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=3028Fri, 24 Oct 2008 17:03:03 GMTNewsEurodadCapital FlightGlobalhttp://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=3024http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=3024Fri, 24 Oct 2008 16:46:45 GMTNewsEurodadCapital FlightGlobalThe International Monetary Fund (IMF) has started lending again. Its clients so far include three European countries – Iceland, Ukraine and Belarus – and also Pakistan. The policy conditions on recipients appear to be lighter than the Fund’s normal practice. At the same time more world leaders have added their voices to calls for an early summit meeting to reform the financial architecture and the IMF Managing Director is in trouble for alleged favouritism towards two female employees.http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=3010http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=3010Thu, 23 Oct 2008 15:30:11 GMTNewsIMFWBUNG8EurodadPoverty analysis and strategiesInternational Financial InstitutionsFinancial architectureGlobalPreparatory note for the Doha conference on financing for developmentDeveloping countries face the problem of tax evasion aloneTaxation is, in the vast majority of States, the most important source of public revenues.  Developing countries face many problems, including weak tax administration and control mechanisms, the weakness of international tax cooperation, massive tax evasion, the collapse of customs revenues and tax competition between states, exacerbated by the effective blackmail exercised by some international investors, and zero rate taxes charged by tax havens. The shortfall is huge: alone, tax evasion cost over $ 400 bn. per year in southern states, which alone would be sufficient to finance the Millennium Developmenthttp://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=3000http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=3000Fri, 17 Oct 2008 13:37:22 GMTNewsEurodadPoverty analysis and strategiesCapital FlightGlobalThe presidents of the World Bank and France went public with strong criticisms of international institutions just before the annual meetings of the World Bank and IMF. Civil society organisations also used the occasion of these meetings to launch a new statement urging significant reform.http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=2988http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=2988Thu, 9 Oct 2008 11:54:39 GMTNewsIMFWBEurodadFinancial architectureInternational Financial InstitutionsCapital FlightGlobalEurodad members are pressing their governments to ensure a strong, specific and action-oriented position for the UN Financing for Development summit in Doha at the end of November. The EU position is being drawn up now, through ongoing negotiations among officials in Brussels. Official documents seen by Eurodad show that the current EU positions are weak and lack specificity.Eurodad director Alex Wilks had an opportunity to address EU development ministers at their informal meeting in Bordeaux on 30 November. He stressed the importance of measures on debt and capital flight, stressing that developing countries should not be made to suffer because of flaws in the financial system that European and other developed country governments can fix.http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=2976http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=2976Thu, 9 Oct 2008 10:15:13 GMTNewsEUUNEurodadFinancial architectureCapital FlightDebt sustainabilityAid accountingGlobalAt the end of September the people of Ecuador voted in a new constitution. The new framework contains significant provisions on debt repayments, and strong protections against taking on new debts that do not benefit the majority of Ecuador’s citizens. The constitution was informed by the public debt audit commission established by the government, which has just reported. It found significant problems with Ecuador’s debtshttp://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=2968http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=2968Wed, 8 Oct 2008 16:51:32 GMTNewsEurodadDebt sustainabilityFinancial architectureGlobalOn September 18 Eurodad and other European and international CSO networks took part in a high level dialogue with the French EU Presidency. The purpose of this dialogue was to discuss the European Union’s position the Monterrey review process while focusing on four key areas: illicit financial flows from developing countries, global taxes as innovative sources for financing development, systemic issues and debt.http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=2936http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=2936Tue, 30 Sep 2008 09:39:08 GMTNewsEurodadFinancial architectureIllegitimate debtInternational Financial InstitutionsGlobalThe current financial crisis led by the lack of regulation in the financial system risks having devastating spillover effects on developing countries (see Eurodad article). Eurodad and many other CSOs have been calling for a stable and financial system as a key condition for coherent development. On 23rd September the European Parliament approved two resolutions calling on the European Commission and member States to implement legislation for stronger regulation and more transparency of the financial markets and financial institutions.One resolution calls on the Commission to submit by the end of this year a legislative proposal covering a series of principles on financial institutions and markets. The resolution also points out that the Commission should investigate the possibilities of regulating off-shore market players. The EP calls for:http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=2924http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=2924Thu, 25 Sep 2008 14:36:50 GMTNewsIMFEUEurodadFinancial architectureInternational Financial InstitutionsCapital FlightGlobalInter-governmental negotiations on the draft Doha Outcome Document, which will be agreed at the Doha Conference on Financing for Development to take place in Qatar on 29 November - 2 December this year, started on the 8th of September in New York.    http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=2858http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=2858Wed, 17 Sep 2008 11:59:24 GMTNewsIMFWBEUUNEurodadFinancial architectureGlobalThe actions of so-called vulture funds – or speculative investors in the debt of distressed companies or sovereign states – have grabbed international media headlines over the past 18 months. Some of the dramatic media headlines have read: “Vultures leave the developing world hungry,” “How top London law firms help vulture funds devour their prey,” and “Vulture funds against poor countries.”[i] The issue became a particularly hot topic in 2007 when it was revealed that a company by the name of Donegal International was suing the Government of Zambia in the London courts for US$ 55 million on a debt it had paid just US$ 3.2 million to acquire. The company was eventually awarded US$ 15.4 million. The concern voiced by NGOs and governments alike is that the small gains in debt cancellation which countries such as Zambia have recently benefited from could be instantly wiped-out by aggressive vulture fund litigation. http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/reports.aspx?id=2752http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/reports.aspx?id=2752Thu, 28 Aug 2008 18:02:05 GMTReportsEurodadFinancial architectureIllegitimate debtCapital FlightGlobalThe first draft of the Doha Outcome Document on Reviewing the Implementation of the Monterrey Consensus which will be negotiated during September and October and, hopefully, approved at the Doha Conference at the end of November in Qatar, has been published this week. This first draft is the result of intergovernmental discussions – review sessions and informal consultations held during the first half of this year – as well as hearings with civil society and the business sector.http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=2634http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=2634Fri, 1 Aug 2008 15:21:46 GMTNewsIMFWBParis ClubUNEurodadFinancial architectureGlobalThe preparatory process towards the review conference of the Financing for Development process to take place in Doha at the beginning of December is steadily moving forward. The first draft of the Doha outcome document is currently being finalised and will be presented by the President of the UN General Assembly by the end of this month. September will be the crucial negotiating month – but possibly rather late to get issues on the draft outcome document if not already there. So, it is crucial to take action now to try to get CSO demands included in the document.http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=2536http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=2536Fri, 11 Jul 2008 16:39:25 GMTNewsUNEurodadFinancial architectureGlobalEurodad article that discusses appropriate tools and approaches to avoiding the 2015 or 2020 debt crisis.http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=2424http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=2424Tue, 10 Jun 2008 16:51:16 GMTNewsEurodadDebt sustainabilityIllegitimate debtFinancial architectureGlobalChristian Aid has concluded that the necessary money, and more, is already available – if only those who owe it would pay up. We are talking about tax. This report seeks to expose the scandal of a global taxation system that allows the world’s richest to duck their responsibilities while condemning the poorest to stunted development, even premature death.http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/reports.aspx?id=2280http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/reports.aspx?id=2280Tue, 13 May 2008 14:09:03 GMTReportsEuropean bilateral donorsChristian AidCapital FlightGlobalEurodad, CRBM, WEED, Bretton Woods Project report on Capital Flight calling for the dramatic reform of the IMF’s structure and mandate and the strengthening of regional financial architecture and a stronger UN mandate to combat capital flight. It proposes regulatory measures to combat capital flight and speculative actors such as hedge funds and private equity funds and stresses the need for greater transparency. http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/reports.aspx?id=2274http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/reports.aspx?id=2274Thu, 8 May 2008 20:13:36 GMTReportsIMFEurodadCapital FlightGlobalhttp://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/reports.aspx?id=2270http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/reports.aspx?id=2270Thu, 8 May 2008 19:58:08 GMTReportsEurodadCapital FlightGlobalA short report of a meeting in Brussels where Eurodad and allies set out reforms needed in the global financial system to ensure that it meets development needs. The meeting covered capital flight and tax issues, plus hedge funds and private equity. Speakers were from WEED, Tax Justice Network, DG Taxud and CCFD.http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=2258http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=2258Wed, 7 May 2008 11:08:36 GMTNewsEurodadCapital FlightFinancial architectureGlobalThe Special high-level meeting of the Economic and Social Council with the Bretton Woods institutions, the World Trade Organization and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development took place on Monday, 14 April 2008, at the United Nations Headquarters in New York.  The overall theme of the meeting was "Coherence, coordination and cooperation in the context of the implementation of the Monterrey Consensus, including new challenges and emerging issues". http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=2230http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=2230Fri, 18 Apr 2008 16:29:45 GMTNewsUNEurodadFinancial architectureGlobalThe IMF has a lot of work to do if it wants to help clamp down on illicit flows that hinder development finance.  Zambia may be showing the way for poor countries.http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=2200http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=2200Tue, 8 Apr 2008 15:14:51 GMTNewsIMFEurodadFinancial architectureGlobalhttp://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=2162http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=2162Thu, 27 Mar 2008 14:19:38 GMTNewsG8otherEurodadFinancial architectureDebt sustainabilityGlobalIn the absence of an international insolvency regime and in the face of the continuing ad hoc and haphazard treatment of the sovereign debt of developing countries, we are demanding a series of contractual changes in loan contracts issued to sovereign states. These measures aim to provide guidance, fairness and certainties to borrower states and lenders as well as protect the citizens and environments of developing nations. The proposal moves away from institution or sector specific approaches to dealing with concerns over ‘responsible lending’ and ‘fair resolution of debt crises’ towards internationally recognised legal standards for responsible financing.Eurodad’s Charter on Responsible Financing outlines the essential components of a responsible loan. These aim to ensure that terms and conditions are fair, that the loan contraction process is transparent, that human rights and environments of recipient nations are respected and repayment difficulties or disputes are resolved fairly and efficiently. Many of the provisions outlined in Eurodad’s charter are drawn from international treaties and conventions to which lender and borrower nations are signatories.The issue of ‘responsible lending’ by both official and private creditors has been rapidly gaining ground in international discourses on debt and aid. The main driver of international interest in the former is probably the increased prominence of developing country lenders such as China, India, Venezuela and Brazil among others. This has unsettled many ‘traditional’ donors and creditors who are arguing – rightly or not – that ‘new’ lenders will contribute to new rounds of unsustainable and irresponsible debt in developing countries.But other factors are also playing a role. The Norwegian Government has helped to stimulate discussions around creditor co-responsibility in lending to sovereign states by its October 2006 decision to cancel US$80mn in debt owed by five countries because the credits had been extended irresponsibly without due consideration for the needs of the recipient countries. NGOs are now intensifying their efforts to gain international recognition of the doctrine of ‘illegitimate debt’ and have been developing links with legal experts to try to develop this currently underdeveloped area of international law. NGO campaigning efforts have also helped to generate research studies on the issue by both the World Bank and UNCTAD.2008 will also see a high level forum on aid effectiveness in Accra, Ghana. Most of the world’s largest donors have signed-up to the so-called ‘Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness’. This binds donors to a set of targets as they relate to developing country ownership of development assistance, its focus on poverty reduction and mutual accountability of donors and recipients.As regards private creditors, the current crisis hitting the US sub-prime mortgage market has also focused international attention on the issue of ‘predatory lending’ by some banks and the need to enforce more responsible behaviour by lenders. Some commentators have suggested that these same principles be extended to the international lending arena.Eurodad’s Charter on Responsible Financing aims to provide a robust response to these challenges. It outlines what mutual accountability looks like in practice and points to the inadequacies of current policy responses at the international level. Part One of the paper asks why this issue is such a hot topic and critically reviews some of the current measures available to promote responsible lending and resolve debt difficulties. Part Two presents Eurodad’s Charter on Responsible Financing.The proposals outlined in the paper are intended to launch further debate at the international level into this issue. The Monterrey Consensus of 2002 states very clearly that “debtors and creditors must share the responsibility for preventing and resolving unsustainable debt situations.” In the run-up to the UN Financing for Development Summit in Doha in 2008, countries around the world have a unique opportunity to put these issues at the forefront and to debate seriously the proposals tabled in Eurodad’s Charter.http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/reports.aspx?id=2060http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/reports.aspx?id=2060Wed, 6 Feb 2008 17:01:45 GMTReportsIMFWBEUParis ClubExport Credit AgenciesIADBOECDUNG8European bilateral donorsotherEurodadFinancial architectureDebt sustainabilityIllegitimate debtGovernanceConditionalityInternational Financial InstitutionsFinancial architectureGlobalA new world conference on FfD is scheduled to take place from 29 November to 2 December 2008 in Doha (Qatar), aiming at reviewing the implementation of Monterrey’s decisions and determining the new initiatives that would be necessary to meet the increasingly compromised MDGs. http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=1992http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=1992Fri, 11 Jan 2008 11:04:17 GMTNewsIMFWBUNEurodadFinancial architectureGlobalCoinciding with the signing on December 9, in Buenos Aires, of the South Bank's Founding Act, hundreds of social movements, networks, organizations and personalities from throughout Latin America and the world are presenting to the Presidents of Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Ecuador, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Venezuela,  an Open Letter expressing their expectation with regard to the creation of the new financial institution together with proposals intended to ensure that the Bank can indeed contribute to the integration of the region's peoples and the full enjoyment of human and environmental rights and the right to development.The text manifests the movements' conviction that this South-South entity must break with the experience of existing multilateral organisms such as the World Bank, the IMF, the IDB, and the Andean Development Corporation (CAF), "which are widely recognized today for their non-democratic, non-transparent, regressive, and disaccredited operations".  The South Bank must also contribute to overcoming "the negative experience of economic liberalization suffered by the region, with its consequences of ever more indebtedness and the constant draining of capital, deregulation, and the privatization of public patrimony and basic services”.http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=1940http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=1940Tue, 18 Dec 2007 17:16:51 GMTNewsotherEurodadFinancial architectureLatin AmericaThe leaders of Argentina, Bolivia, Venezuela, Paraguay, Ecuador and Brazil gathered in Buenos Aires, on December 9th to officially launch the Bank of the South which should start to operate in 2008 with a global capital of $7billion.The Bank of the South emerges as an alternative institution to Washington based IFIs such as the World Bank, the IMF and the Inter-American Development Bank. "This is the start of a historical moment," said Bolivian President Evo Morales. "Only strong and united can South America occupy its rightful place among nations," Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said. "This will be the first international bank truly controlled by the nations of our continent."  Ecuadorian President, Rafael Correa stated “We have initiated a new financial architecture having a Bank as a heart and a development financial network as an alternative to the IMF”.The launch in Buenos Aries, featured by positive declarations on the new Bank needs now to be followed by concrete commitments and actions from its members. Several non-government organisations have released a statement specifying such actionshttp://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=1938http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=1938Tue, 18 Dec 2007 17:12:49 GMTNewsotherEurodadFinancial architectureLatin AmericaA new world conference on FfD is scheduled to take place towards the end of 2008 in Doha (Qatar), aiming at reviewing the implementation of Monterrey’s decisions and determining the new initiatives that would be necessary to meet the increasingly compromised MDGs. The political challenge faced by governments lies in achieving specific agreements at the Doha Conference well beyond the minimum Monterrey Consensus. http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=1856http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=1856Fri, 16 Nov 2007 13:46:53 GMTNewsIMFWBUNEurodadFinancial architectureGlobalAgreement to create Bank of the Southhttp://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=1720http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=1720Thu, 11 Oct 2007 16:26:12 GMTNewsotherEurodadFinancial architectureInternational Financial InstitutionsLatin AmericaThe evidence that Eurodad has gathered for this report questions whether the Bank and the Fund really are stepping away from ideology-based policy influence to evidence-based policy advice. We have found that PSIA to date has been wrongly focussed, inadequately disseminated and without clear effects on decision-making. There is a danger that PSIA is being used to justify the reform decisions the IFIs have already made in their own lending programmes.http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/reports.aspx?id=1106http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/reports.aspx?id=1106Mon, 7 May 2007 16:20:01 GMTReportsIMFWBEurodadPoverty analysis and strategiesGlobalThis briefing paper by Celine Tan unpacks fiduciary obligations between donors, client states and citizens in international loan and aid agreements.http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/reports.aspx?id=464http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/reports.aspx?id=464Thu, 29 Mar 2007 17:04:20 GMTReportsEurodadFinancial architectureConditionalityGlobalComminique: Afrodad - SADC Parliamentary Forum 'Dialogue on Loan Contraction and Debt Management and Development, Namibia.http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=434http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=434Thu, 29 Mar 2007 14:03:41 GMTNewsEurodadFinancial architectureDebt sustainabilityAfricaEurodad report of Afrodad - SADC- PF seminar on Loan Contraction and Debt Management processes in Southern Africa, Windhoek, February 2006.http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=420http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=420Thu, 29 Mar 2007 13:07:18 GMTNewsIMFWBEurodadFinancial architectureDebt sustainabilityAfricaSome 30 parliamentarians and civil society representatives from Africa and Europe met in Accra last to discuss the crucial role that parliamentarians have – or should have - in debt management and loan contraction in Africa.http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=286http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=286Tue, 27 Mar 2007 10:35:13 GMTNewsEurodadFinancial architectureDebt sustainabilityAfrica