IX.
When problems are or become global, then politicians must act globally too. Examples include climate protection, the international financial system, competition for business, social dumping, economic crises and the causes of flight. It has now become the norm to discuss how to tackle these global challenges on the basis of equality under the heading "global governance." Global governance does not mean ruling the world, and it certainly does not mean that the nation-state is superfluous. However, the international community must work together constructively. We need regional and global cooperation, not centralism; we need multilateral cooperation, not the primacy of individual states.
But global cooperation is already much more advanced than we sometimes realize: global and regional organizations monitor elections, combat new forms of organized crime and make decisions on humanitarian intervention. Arms control and disarmament are further important elements of an international regulatory framework.
The most important element is the United Nations. The United Nations must be strengthened. It is after all much more than just the Security Council. It is also concerned with health issues and industrial health and safety, with global environmental issues and with the fight against hunger and poverty.
The debate on the reform of the United Nations is at last underway. It is good that many sides are participating. The tasks facing us today are not those of fifty years ago. The United Nations must take account of this.
Global governance also implies a globally recognized legal order. We need reliable, independent courts and arbitral bodies to arbitrate in disputes, punish international crime and ensure that anyone who violates international order must fear the hand of the law. I confess I am worried that the establishment of an International Criminal Court suffered such a severe setback recently.
Three institutions today are particular determinants of the shape of globalization: the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the World Trade Organization. Of course the work of these organizations is also the target of criticism. Some people accuse them of focusing on unilateral interests and demonstrating a blind faith in the market.
The developing countries must be given greater weight in the decision-making bodies of the World Bank, IMF and WTO. These organizations are under obligation to people across the globe, they are not slaves to economic or other specific interests.
We Europeans must bring our idea of a social and environmentally-friendly market economy even more strongly to bear than we have done thus far. This, too, is a logical consequence if we are and if we wish to take on increased global responsibility.
Regional cooperation strengthens international cooperation. It wins back the sovereignty, the democratically legitimized power that individual nation-states have lost as a result of globalization. The European Union is a successful illustration of this. It can and must make an important contribution to globalization. As a response to the challenges of our age it is an example for other regions to follow.
The non-governmental organizations, too, provide substantial impetus in giving globalization political shape. They help to identify problems and develop strategies for their solution.
Companies and entrepreneurs are responsible not only to their shareholders and employees. They also bear a social responsibility in the town, region and country in which they operate. There is a well-established tradition of this in many companies in Germany.
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