Planet under Pressure

POLITICAL LESSONS
health, economic, and social spending
to respond to the crisis. It is an important
step forward because it creates an
institutional framework to get China and
other non-traditional creditors on board,
while also making significant progress
toward transparency of debt flows and
conditions on the use of freed-up funds.
In short, the EU will continue defending
multilateralism while working to adapt
it to the new realities of our highly connected
and digitalized world economy.
This is the best way to defend and promote
the fundamental rights our union
is based on globally.
Covid-19 has revealed critical weaknesses and
blind spots, which international organizations
– including the United Nations, governments,
the private sector, and NGOs – must collectively
address. The word “resilience” is used very often
these days. What is the future architecture for
political resilience?
I am a firm believer in the virtue of
democratic accountability. In my role as
Commissioner, I am in constant contact
with the European Parliament, which
directly represents EU citizens. Likewise,
parliaments everywhere have to
remain vigilant and scrutinize their
governments, which will be especially
important in the recovery period as we
rebuild our economies and societies.
With so many flaws in our economic
system exposed and so much at stake,
I also find this a perfect opportunity to
draw up a new social contract. We have
to build a society where we rethink our
relationship with the environment, the
way our economies operate – including
ensuring that corporations pay their
fair share of taxes – how we take care
of our elderly citizens, and how we
help young people to have the best
start in life.
Thank you very much for the interview!
Paolo Gentiloni is a former
professional journalist and
graduated with a degree in Political
Science from the University
of Rome. He was Minister of
Foreign Affairs in Italy before he
became 57th Prime Minister of
Italy from 2016-2018. He has
been serving as European
Commissioner for Economy in
the von der Leyen Commission
since December 1, 2019.
Global Goals Yearbook 2020
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