Social Watch E-Newsletter - Issue 295 - April 21, 2017

All major presidential candidates promise in their platforms to increase the French development cooperation contribution to 0.7 per cent of GDP and yet "I bet you a bottle of champagne that whoever gets elected, when we gather again five years from now that promise will not have been met".
Jean-Michel Severino, the author of the bet, was speaking on behalf of Emmanuel Macron in a public debate about French international relations and development cooperation among representatives from the five leading presidential candidates, a contest so close that four of them have chances to pass to the second and final round next May. Read more

Last week the UN Committee of Experts on International Tax (UNTC) met at the United Nations HQ in New York, a few metres from the Security Council meetings on Syria, followed by a special session on tax of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). The undercurrent of the detailed technical discussions during the week has been a crisis of global tax governance. While, for example, the grand-sounding Addis Tax Initiative included a commitment to double the aid for tax issues to developing countries, very little has come to the UNTC. Read the analysis of Sol Picciotto, senior adviser of the Tax Justice Network

More than eight years after the global financial crisis exploded in late 2008, economic growth remains generally tepid, while ostensible recovery measures appear to have exacerbated income and other inequalities, reports the leading economic publication of the United Nations, the “World Economic Situation and Prospects” in its 2017 edition.
Despite the G-20 group of the world's largest economies raising the level, frequency and profile of its meetings, effective multilateral cooperation and coordination remains a distant dream, observes the report. Read more

Public development banks (PDBs) are enjoying a resurgence. The global financial and economic crisis has stimulated new interest in PDBs, particularly given the important role they play in providing counter-cyclical financing when private capital is in short supply. In recent years, several countries have established new national and multilateral PDBs, and at the global level they have been recognised for the role they play in the United Nations Financing for Development process. A new report from Eurodad, entitled "Public development banks: towards a better model", finds four main roles that public development banks (PDBs) can play to improve the impact of the financial sector on development. Read more.

ICAE announces the Webinar with Paul Holdsworth on the topic of “The new Skills Agenda for Europe”.
The webinar will take place next May 2nd at 14:00 (Brussels Time) in English language. The seminar is free of charge, open to anyone.
During the webinar, Paul Holdsworth will present and discuss his article on “The New Skills Agenda for Europe” written together with Dana Bachmann. The European Commission has published major proposals to tackle a number of challenges faced by the European Union in the field of skills and human capital. These aim to improve the quality and relevance of skills formation, make skills and qualifications more visible and comparable, and improve skills intelligence and information for better career choices. Read more.

Social Watch will again join forces with other NGOs and networks to publish in 2017 a new "Spotlight report" (as opposed to "shadow report") on sustainable development.
This report will be launched next July during the meeting of the High Level Political Forum of the United Nations that will review at ministerial level the Agenda 2030 and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals.
Almost two years after the adoption of this ambitious agenda, the 2017 report will look at how it is implemented. The Guidelines for the Social Watch national reports 2017 are available in English, French and Spanish.