Dear Leaders, We Need Better Governance

The fourth document prepared by The Group of Lecce. Dear Leaders, We continue to solicit your attention, as we have done since your first summit in 2009, with ideas and proposals on what, in our view, should be done by the G20 to bring the world back on the road to authentic and effective multilateralism. We reiterate our strong persuasion that a globalized world requires that each and every nation be recognized – and be willing to take on itself – a fair share of responsibility vis-a-vis the global community of peoples and nations. For this very reason, we still hold onto our hope that your will use the G20 as a conduit to a governance framework where, not just twenty-some nations, however important, but all the nations that aim to be part of the global community have a right to a voice and for their voice to be heard. The world economy is still plagued by formidable disequilibria. It is not an exaggeration to fear that new severe crises might erupt, prompted by the perverse incentives triggered by those disequilibria, which could result in renewed human hurdles, further diffusion of instability and insecurity, and rising social and political tensions. Growing international macroeconomic inconsistencies, unresolved problems in financial markets and institutions, unaddressed fundamental governance issues, and questions of social justice still demand serious attention and resolute action on your side. More than that: they demand that you, as your forefathers did some sixty-five years ago when the world was emerging from the chasm of war, take the opportunity of the recent crisis to overhaul the way in which our global place is governed. Our global place needs a strong and genuinely multilateral governance framework, providing for rules by which all nations should feel obliged to abide in the interest of their peoples. Our global place should be one where nations felt responsible for considering the impact that their policy decisions exert on one another, and where national policies with potentially systemic consequences were agreed on internationally, before being acted upon. In other words: our global place needs better governance.