Civil society organisations welcome the historic decision by the UN to negotiate a Tax Convention and two further protocols. In response to the vote, Eurodad's tax expert, Tove Maria Ryding, called the decision a 'beacon of hope for a fair and efficient global tax system.'

At the UN vote, eight countries - United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Japan, Israel, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand - voted against, while all EU Member States abstained.

First PrepCom at Addis Ababa: working towards the FfD4 conference

The first session of the Preparatory Committee (PrepCom) for the UN's Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4) took place in Addis Ababa from 22 to 26 June. Read the Civil Society Financing for Development Mechanism chronicles to learn about the meetings' highlights and CSOs' proposals to democratise the global economic governance: 

Chronicle #16 (22 July) | Chronicle #17 (23 July) | Chronicle #18 (24 July) | Chronicle #19 (26 July)

Watch Maria Jose Romero's (Policy and Advocacy Manager - Development Finance at Eurodad) intervention on private finance

Read the blog "End of the Addis Ababa era: UN meeting takes stock of nearly a decade in development finance" by Bodo Ellmers (Global Policy Forum)

 

Eurodad's Annual Report 2023

Over the summer we have published our Annual Report 2023. It presents an overview of last year's activities, including priorities and outcomes of our work on debt justice, development finance, climate finance and tax justice. 

Read our annual report 2023

Debt cancellation could put 5 million more children in school

via Debt Justice UK

An analysis released by the GRADE (Government Revenue and Development) project, based at the University of St Andrews and University of Leicester, shows that there could be huge benefits if cancellation of debts brought countries’ external debt down to sustainable levels.

Read more

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Blogs

Ethiopia’s debt crisis: what next?

by Catherine Mithia (AFRODAD)

Ethiopia has been contending with economic pressures following the Covid-19 pandemic and a devastating conflict in the Northern Tigray region that have caused immense inflationary pressure, foreign currency shortages, and growing debt burdens. A recent national debt meeting convened by AFRODAD and the Horn of Economic and Social Policy Institute (HESPI) laid bare the grim reality of Ethiopia’s debt crisis. 

Read more

Kenya protests: a wake-up call to a failing international financial architecture

by Manasi Karthik (Center for Economic and Policy Research)

Protests ignited by recent IMF-backed reforms in Kenya show no signs of abating. These events should serve as a wake-up call about the global debt crisis — and the inadequacy of multilateral lending in breaking the cycle of debt.

Read more

Why feminists are rejecting the cult of growth

by Rachel Noble and Anam Parvez (Oxfam GB)

This is a report from an impassioned session at the International Association for Feminist Economics conference, where scholars and activists called for nations to stop pushing growth at all costs – and instead move towards feminist, care-centred economies that prioritise rights, justice, people and planet.

Read more

80 years of broken promises: the Bretton Woods Institutions, neocolonialism, and the urgent need for a feminist global economic order

by MENAFem

A collection of blog posts consolidates critical feminist reflections, mainly from the global south, in an effort to provide an alternative perspective on the 80th anniversary of the Bretton Woods Institutions.

Read the blogs

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Reports

The case for the complete removal of IMF surcharges: historical precedents and a growing burden

by Center for Economic and Policy Research

Based on data published by the IMF and calculations made by the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR), this paper discusses the growing burden of surcharges and their negative implications given the multiple crises facing developing countries today.

Read the report

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Useful resources

Rewatch “IMF-World Bank's eight decades of debt and destruction”

by APMDD - Asian Peoples' Movement on Debt and Development

This webinar focused on the particular impacts and the continuing adverse consequences of the IMF and World Bank lending policies on global south countries in Asia.

Rewatch the webinar

E-book - Social movements and the politics of debt: transnational resistance against debt on three continents

The author traces recent contestations of debt from North Africa to Europe and the US. In doing so, he identifies the emergence of new transnational movement networks against the injustice of current debt politics, which struggle for more social and democratic ways of organising debt within and between societies.

Read the e-book

Join the #LifeOverDebt campaign

by LATINDADD

This campaign raises awareness of the prioritisation of sustainability of life over the sustainability of debt in Latin American and Caribbean countries from a feminist perspective.

Get involved (Spanish) | Watch the video in Spanish | Watch the video in Portuguese

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Events

Save the date: 9 October | Brussels and online | Report launch: Who profits from the Global Gateway? The EU’s new strategy for development cooperation

Launched in 2021 by the European Commission, the Global Gateway has been promoted as the EU’s ‘positive offer’ to countries in the Global South. Yet a new report by Counter Balance and Eurodad, and supported by Oxfam, explores many concerning issues with this strategy. It asks the central question: is the Global Gateway prioritising the EU’s foreign policy goals and its own economic interests and companies over positive development outcomes in its partner countries?

The launch event will bring together the authors of the report, decision/policy makers from the EU and civil society representatives from the Global South and North to debate the future of international development for the EU. Event registrations will open soon.

Ongoing - until 6 September | Online | Gender IFI Summer School 2024

At the Gender IFI Summer School 2024, experienced speakers cover how international financial institutions (IFIs) impact women’s rights, and share advocacy and mobilising tactics to rise up against them. 

Register to the next sessions

10 October | Bratislava and online | Ambrela Development Forum 2024 - Building bridges, building solutions

The Slovak Platform for development organisations – Ambrela responds to the current humanitarian challenges in an inter-connected world with a one-day international conference. The event brings together government officials, civil society leaders, international organisations, and private sector representatives to foster collaboration between them in order to build stronger development solutions.

Register for the event

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Vacancies

Call for tender for communications agency to support the ‘Connecting the Dots’ EU DEAR project

Eurodad | Deadline: 16 September

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This newsletter has been produced with co-funding from the European Union, Bread for the World and Norad. The contents of this publication are the sole responsibility of Eurodad and can under no circumstances be regarded as reflecting the position of the funders.