The European Union has recognized that the current recession is affecting the global system at all levels – overturning the old notion that globalisation could only be good. The hardest hit are those who were already the world’s poorest – particularly those who had begun to climb out of poverty.
Since the beginning of the crisis, the EU has been acting on two fronts:
1. Minimising the impact on developing countries – a primary goal during the trade talks in Doha last December
2. Ensuring poor countries have a voice in world governance – the EU pushed for this during the G-20 summits in Washington and London.
To give EU action a coherent framework, the Commission has issued a policy paper – Supporting developing countries in coping with the crisis
The paper reaffirms the two guiding principles for EU relations with developing countries – partnership and solidarity.
