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This book studies global economic governance using an innovative structure to juxtapose normative arguments with empirical analysis. Chapters investigate the most important areas of global economic governance, including trade, investment, finance, labour and taxation. Bringing together leading scholars in political philosophy, international relations, economics and international law, the book sheds new light on the justice of political decision-making, the distribution of benefits and burdens of the global economy, and intergenerational justice in global economic governance.

Due to the level of global economic interdependence our world has reached, the question of how the global economy should be governed is of utmost importance. The rules of global economic governance have to balance the often-conflicting interests and claims of the diverse actors who participate in or are affected by the global economy. Economic governance structures are never morally neutral; they have particular collective decision-making proce- dures and they strongly influence how the benefits of economic cooperation are distributed. This chapter aims to introduce the reader to the concept of justice and provide an overview of some of the key distinctions in the contemporary normative philosophy of social and global justice, with special attention to the issues relevant to global economic governance.

Foreign Direct investment (FDI) is considered a key promoter of economic development, since it provides access to external financing, technology, managerial expertise and jobs. However, FDI is limited to a small number of locations and many low and middle-income countries (LMICs) continue to be excluded from global foreign investment flows. The reasons for this exclusion are manifold and may vary from country to country. A particular policy instrument LMICs have traditionally resorted to in order to attract FDI are international investment agreements (IIAs).¹ LMICs have signed thousands of these agreements since the late 1950s.[...] The following section reviews the global investment regime from the perspective of socioeconomic justice and analyses the distributional effects of IIAs. Then, the chapter assesses the global investment regime from an intergenerational perspective and asks to what extent IIAs contribute to (or restrict) the pursuit of sustainabale develoment. The final section concludes and provides on overview of current reform proposals.

Climate change is deeply unjust. Not only are the physical impacts of climate change felt the most by poorer countries and those at the base of the economic pyramid within countries, but poorer countries and poorer segments within societies have also contributed the least to global warming and are least capable of investing in resilience and adaptation. Moreover, climate change is diminishing the development prospects of future generations, which have not contributed to the problem at all. The financial sector sits at the heart of the problem. It has financed ecoomic activities that have contributed to climate change, and it continues to do so. [...]. The next section discusses the shortcomings of the current global financial system and outline attempts at introducing sustainability elements into global financial governance. The following section assesses sustainable finance from the perspective of political, socioeconomic and intergenerational justice. The final section offers policy recommendations for developing a global governance framework for sustainable finance.

The international tax system forms a regime in global economic governance that governs the allocation of taxing rights for cross-border transactions between countries. The regime is based on domestic tax laws, bilateral or regional tax treaties, non-binding guidelines, and multilateral agreements. There is no global institution such as an international tax organisation, although discussions on a new UN tax convention are currently underway (Laudage Teles & von Haldenwang, 2023). The key challenges for global justice are harmful tax competition between countries, as well as tax avoidance and tax evasion by multinational corporations and wealthy individuals. Such practices are facilitated by the widespread use of tax expenditures, referring to preferential tax treatments that favour specific sectors, activities or groups of taxpayers. At an international scale, the use of tax expenditures strips countries of desperately needed public revenues and deepens inequalities between tax havens and countries with high-income tax rates.[...]. Th eGlobal Tax Expenditures Database (GTED) is the first to shed light on the scale of tax expenditures and tax expenditure reporting worldwide. We use GTED data in this chapter to present a descriptive analysis of tax exependitures worldwide.

The debt situation in developing countries (low- and middle-income countries) has come under immense stress. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank have estimated that the proportion of low-income countries (LICs) that are at high risk of debt distress or are already in debt distress has increased from 30 per cent in 2015 to more than 50 per cent in 2024 (IMF, 2024). About 25 per cent of middle-income countries (MICs) are also at risk. There are many reasons for this, including the Covid-19 pandemic and the climate crisis. However, some countries have taken on excessive debt in the good times, in some cases on unfavourable terms. The rise in interest rates over the last two years has further increased the debt burden and made refinancing more difficult. Despite this mounting debt crisis, recent debt restructurings have been slow to materialise and has so far been limlited to very few countries.

Digital technologies are used in arguably all sectors of the economy and the private sphere. They connect people all over the world, alter production structures and facilitate new business models. As the digitalisation of the economy has the potential to profoundly change global economic interactions, it is likely to also change distributional outcomes. This chapter analyses possible distributional consequences of the globalised digital economy along different dimensions, including intra- and intergenerational socioeconomic distributions and the distribution of political control. We discuss the resulting national and international policy options to address potentially undesired distributional consequences. Specifically, we offer empirical predictions that can be evaluated against normative theories of justice, therby contributing to the analysisof justice in global economic governance. Our conjectures build on the application of basic economic theory to what we consider characteristic, specific features of the digital economy.

The disruptions to the earth’s system have reached an unprecedented scale, posing enormous challenges around the globe. The world has entered the Anthropocene, a new geological age in which human activity is recognised as the dominant force driving the negative changes in climate and environment, and the very earth system upon which our existence depends. In such an era of planet-wide transformation, some scholars have argued for a new model for planet-wide environmental politics: earth system governance (Biermann, 2007). Earth system governance is broader than traditional environmental policy and emphasises the complexities of integrated socio-ecological systems (for a focus on natual resources see Armstrong, Chapter 21 in this volume). Key concerns of earth system governance are broad and often include interdependent challenges such as land use change, food system disruptions, climate change, environment-induced migration, species extinction and air pollution.[...]. This chapter expands with three main goals: first, we discuss how the global economic system affects the allocation of environmental benefits and burdens among people and countries around the world. Second, we analyse varying approaches to earth system governance and their distinctive proposals for an effective and just earth system governance. We conclude by laying out our policy proposals for earch system governance in this field, focusin on redistribution in a pro-poor manner.

 

 

 

By now, inequality has assumed centre stage in many international debates. For example, whilst the headline focus of the MDGs until 2015 was on halving extreme poverty, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development added an SDG on inequality reduction. This shift in policy focus has implications for global governance. This chapter discusses key measures and trends of global inequality, investigates the importance of inequality for other important aspects of the global economy, and sketches some of the implications for global governance. For space limitations, we focus on global income inequality. [...].This chapter discusses inequality measures and trends in income inequality and wealth. It also distinguishes national and global inequalilty. The chapter covers income and wealth and their respective trends before sketching out key implications for global governance.

Offers to buy and distribute the contraceptives in crisis-hit countries were ignored with Washington paying to have them burned instead

The country’s data protection authorities are revolting against a draft law to implement the EU's AI Act but the German government isn't backing down

Des mudstones inhabituels trouvés sur la planète rouge pourraient être associés à d'anciens microbes martiens.

The gunman fired a single, fatal shot killing Kirk – a 31-year-old who rallied youth support for Trump – during an appearance at a Utah university on Wednesday

US Energy Secretary Chris Wright tells Euractiv that $750 billion of EU purchases of American energy is just the start

Friday's rare summoning was the strongest in a chorus of condemnations as anger boils in the Gulf over Israel's strike on a region long shielded from Middle Eastern conflicts

On Monday, 22 September 2025 in room Spaak 3C50 (16:00-17:30), the Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET) will hold a public hearing on promoting an EU feminist foreign policy. This hearing brings together Margot Wallström, who launched the world's first feminist foreign policy in 2014 when she was Foreign Minister of Sweden, and Aude Maio-Coliche, the EU Ambassador for Equality, to discuss how an EU feminist foreign policy could take shape and what the EU is currently doing in this field.
A Feminist Foreign Policy is an approach that puts gender equality at the centre of foreign policy and highlights resources, representation and rights. The hearing aims to assess the current level of ambition and implementation of the EU's foreign policy as regards gender equality, and provide inspiration and concrete examples for continued work in this area.
Programme
Source : © European Union, 2025 - EP

A delegation of the Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET), led by Chair David McAllister, will travel to Bern, Switzerland from 11 to 12 September 2025. During the visit, Members will discuss notably the new broad package of agreements that aim to consolidate, deepen and expand the bilateral relations between the EU and Switzerland.
Political agreement on this broad package was reached in December 2024. In Bern, Members will have the opportunity to exchange with representatives of the government and parliament on the upcoming ratification processes on both sides.
Source : © European Union, 2025 - EP

A delegation of the Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET), led by MEP Matjaž Nemec (S&D, SI) will travel to Bosnia and Herzegovina from 16 to 18 September 2025. This will be the first official visit of the AFET Committee to the Western Balkans in the 10th legislative term.
The visit aims to underline the Committee's commitment to Bosnia and Herzegovina's European integration, grounded in unity, sovereignty, territorial integrity. Members will discuss Bosnia and Herzegovina's progress, and the further reforms needed to advance in its accession path towards the EU.
Source : © European Union, 2025 - EP

A delegation of the Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET), led by Chair David McAllister, will travel to Ottawa and Toronto from 16 to 18 September 2025. This will be the AFET Committee's first official visit to Canada under the European Parliament's current mandate and after the 2025 Canadian federal elections.
During the trip, Members will discuss how to further strengthen the EU's strategic partnership with Canada, reinforce the shared commitment to supporting Ukraine, and jointly address challenges such as the situation in the Middle East, China's growing global influence and geopolitical competition in the Arctic. Insights gathered from the visit will inform the Committee's ongoing work on the Recommendation on enhanced EU-Canada cooperation in the light of the current geopolitical context.
Source : © European Union, 2025 - EP

On Monday, 22 September 2025 in room Spaak 3C50 (16:00-17:30), the Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET) will hold a public hearing on promoting an EU feminist foreign policy. This hearing brings together Margot Wallström, who launched the world's first feminist foreign policy in 2014 when she was Foreign Minister of Sweden, and Aude Maio-Coliche, the EU Ambassador for Equality, to discuss how an EU feminist foreign policy could take shape and what the EU is currently doing in this field.
A Feminist Foreign Policy is an approach that puts gender equality at the centre of foreign policy and highlights resources, representation and rights. The hearing aims to assess the current level of ambition and implementation of the EU's foreign policy as regards gender equality, and provide inspiration and concrete examples for continued work in this area.
Source : © European Union, 2025 - EP