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Europe throws World Bank to
Wolfowitz
By Stefania Bianchi
BRUSSELS - The European Union has endorsed
the nomination of Paul Wolfowitz for the post of
World Bank president after he pledged to make the
fight against poverty his prime goal and promised
to abide by multilateralism. The US deputy defense
secretary's nomination had stirred a hornet's nest
because of his key role in the war on Iraq and
lack of relevant development experience. With
Europe giving its nod, his appointment is now
likely to be finalized by World Bank's directors,
representing 184 countries, who are meeting in New
York on Thursday.
Speaking after an
informal meeting with European officials in
Brussels, Wolfowitz said it was "very important"
that the senior management of the bank reflect the
fact that it is a multilateral institution. "It
needs to reflect the fact that the European
countries as a group are the single-largest donors
to the bank, but it also needs to reflect the full
diversity of donors and recipients. I intend to
look for the best talent from all around the world
and look forward to have a truly multinational
senior staff," he told reporters on Wednesday.
But Wolfowitz refused to make any promises
about who may become his deputy. "There's great
talent here in Europe. There are some impressive
people in the developing world, and I'm going to
need all the help I can get," he added. The EU
wants to get a European as Wolfowitz's deputy.
France has suggested Jean-Pierre Jouyet, head of
the Paris Club of creditor nations. The executive
board of the bank has 24 directors, 11 of them
Europeans, including seven from the EU.
US
President George W Bush had announced Wolfowitz as
the US nomination to head the global lending
institution for developing countries earlier this
month. US nominations to the World Bank presidency
are usually unchallenged, as are European
nominations to lead the International Monetary
Fund (IMF). But since the announcement of the
nomination of Wolfowitz for the post, a
Europe-wide campaign against his choice has been
gaining momentum.
Wolfowitz is considered
one of Bush administration's most hawkish figures
as he was the most visible advocate for the war on
Iraq. However, EU officials effectively gave the
green light to Wolfowitz on Wednesday by referring
to him as the "incoming president" of the World
Bank. As well as meeting Jean-Claude Juncker,
Luxembourg prime minister and current head of the
EU, Wolfowitz also met EU finance and development
officials from the Netherlands, Britain, France,
Germany and Sweden. Juncker said the meeting with
had been "constructive and friendly".
Wolfowitz was keen to reassure doubters
that under his management the bank's development
agenda would remain paramount. "I understand that
I'm, to put it mildly, a controversial figure, but
I hope as people get to know me they will
understand that I really do believe deeply in the
mission of the bank," he told reporters. "It's
important to emphasize too that President Bush
believes deeply in the mission of the bank. He
believes deeply in poverty reduction, he believes
it is an effort to do it multilaterally. It's a
unifying mission, and frankly that's going to be
fun."
Highlighting the World Bank's "truly
noble mission", Wolfowitz said he was eager to
take on the challenge of leading the World Bank.
"People who don't know me may not appreciate why I
am eager to take on the challenge of this job. I
believe deeply in the work of the bank. Helping
people to lift themselves out of poverty is a
noble mission. It is also a critical part of
making the world a better place for all of us. It
is not just the material side of life that
improves; peace and freedom are also advanced when
more people can enjoy the benefits of prosperity
and human dignity."
The European
Commission, the EU executive, said it was happy
with what Wolfowitz had said. A commission
spokesperson said Olli Rehn, EU commissioner for
enlargement, was "satisfied with everything he
heard from Mr Wolfowitz concerning free trade and
also on poverty reduction and development policy".
But non-governmental organizations remain
concerned about Wolfowitz's nomination and urged
him to voice his views on development issues.
"Oxfam is concerned that Paul Wolfowitz has, in
the past, heavily criticized international
institutions and has no direct experience of
development issues. For these reasons we are
calling for a statement clarifying Mr Wolfowitz's
position on these critical issues, and urge
governments and their executive directors at the
bank to take up these issues and the views of
developing countries when considering this
nomination," said Luis Morago, head of Oxfam's EU
office.
(Inter Press
Service) |
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