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Dear Delegates,
Welcome to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development! My name is Ioana Calcev and I am very excited to be the chair of the OECD for WorldMUN 2012.
Originally from Bucharest, Romania, I have lived most of my life in Chicago. I am a senior at Harvard, concentrating in Economics and Government. I have been involved with Model United Nations since freshman year and high school and I look forward to ending my eight-year Model UN adventure with you at WorldMUN. J Besides Model United Nations, I also enjoy soccer, fencing, and traveling.
This upcoming March the OECD will be discussing European economic development and multinational enterprise international standards. I believe that both topics are instrumental in advancing the OECD’s principle goal: improving economic and social well being of people around the world. Particularly now following the financial crisis and the more recent sovereign debt crisis, Europe is grappling with low productivity and unemployment problems. Moreover, the implementation of OECD multinational enterprise standards, the world’s most comprehensive corporate governance criterion, have become especially challenging in the face of post-crisis fiscal constraints.
I hope that you find these topics interesting and that you will use the opportunity of being at WorldMUN to understand the many diverse ideas and points of view from around the world. Please feel free to contact me with any questions that you have!
See you in March,
Ioana Calcev
Chair, OECD
World Model United Nations 2012
oecd@worldmun.org
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Topic A: Economic Development in the European Union
Since the mid 1990’s, European productivity growth has fallen considerably behind that of its competitors, the United States and Japan. In response, EU Heads of States met in 2000 and drafted a ten-year agreement know as the Lisbon Agenda, in order to “make Europe the most competitive and dynamic-based economy in the world.” The three main issues that the Lisbon Agenda sought to realize were: (1) investment in R&D at a level of three per cent of EU’s GDP, (2) the promotion of entrepreneurship, and (3) the reduction of unemployment. At the mid-year report in 2004, Lisbon reviewer Wim Kok reported that although Europe had made some progress, it would not reach its ambitious goals. What is more, following the financial crisis of 2008, European governments grew even more reluctant to push through difficult economic reforms or focus the national budgets on research and innovation. Finally, the recent European sovereign debt crisis has completely derailed Europe’s development aspirations. Nevertheless, the EU stills struggles with market integration, productivity growth, and high unemployment. Given the recent financial distress and the failure of the Lisbon Agenda, can European Heads of State create new development goals for Europe that are both realistic and competitive? If so, what would these goals look like and how will Europe implement them? If that is not feasible, then what can Europe do to increase its productivity growth?
Topic B: Multinational Enterprise International Guidelines
The OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises are the most comprehensive multilateral regulatory guidelines on corporate responsibility. The guidelines include recommendations on business ethics, industrial relations, human rights, environmental use, information disclosers, consumer interests, and science & technology. Forty-two governments have committed to promote these standards among multinational enterprises operating in their territories. Since the initial formulation of the OECD guidelines, the landscape for international investment and multinational enterprises has changed rapidly. In response, every few years the OECD members meet to review and adjust the Guidelines to represent new climate changes and development initiatives. The next update text of the Guidelines is schedules for adoption at the OECD Council Meeting in May of 2011. In regards to this new update, the OECD of World Model United Nations 2012 will evaluate the progress and feasibility of these measures. Moreover, the body will be considering how the OECD can develop these measures to make the accessible and appealing to developing countries and non-OECD members.