EU and UN collaboration urged
Judith Kirton-Darling urges greater collaboration
Better collaboration between the EU and UN could lead to a stronger international society, says Judith Kirton-Darling, confederal secretary to the European Trade Union Confederation.
Judith, a former Quaker Council for European Affairs (QCEA) programme assistant, set out the problems facing internationalism when she spoke at a United Nations Association meeting in Hexham at the weekend.
She used as a benchmark a 2008 article by Financial Times columnist Gideon Rachman, which argued that world government was plausible because all the difficulties facing governments now were international in nature.
‘Rachman argued that a shift towards global governance demands global rules, but we have seen the process stall dramatically in attempts to reach global agreements,’ she said. Judith cited world trade and climate change negotiations that have stalled after years of intensive effort.
Judith acknowledged the increasing cynicism in Europe about the framework of the two organisations but stressed the strength of the EU/UN bond
‘Euroscepticism is rising across Europe’, she said.
‘Most people recognise the need and benefit of global and regional cooperation on issues such as climate change, poverty eradication, development and ever more integrated world systems. A return to national solutions entails many threats in terms of economic and social development, peace and conflict resolution globally.’
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