World government will not be a utopia!

With the financial crisis and many other challenges today's world has faced recently, MEPs noted the urgent need to establish a Parliamentary Assembly at the United Nations (UN). "A Parliamentary Assembly of the UN is a vital component to strengthen the democratic legitimacy of the UN", said Jo Leinen, MEP, during an international conference on October 17, 2013.

Both Leinen and ALDE leader Graham Watson have supported this initiative since 2007. Since 1990 there have been many calls for reform of the UN, but there are few steps taken in this regard, mainly due to a lack of consensus. Currently, citizens are only indirectly represented in the General Assembly by their governments. As a result, the votes do not adequately reflect the political spectrum that exists at national level, which would also include, for example, the opposition.

In a message delivered at the aforementioned conference in Brussels, European Parliament President Martin Schulz stressed strong support for the proposal: "the European Parliament can serve as a model for how a UN Parliamentary Assembly could develop over time. What once started as an advisory body composed of national parliamentarians developed to a directly elected representation", said Schulz. The conference suggested that "a global democratic body with elected representatives should be established to bring “global governance in pursuing post-2015 development goals closer to the people".

Perhaps our generation will go towards a European government, but our children's generation will have the opportunity to see the development of the democratization of global governance. There are issues such as global warming, food security, poverty, etc., which cannot be solved by individual involvement of states, but only through conciliation and cooperation.

Also in debates on the current economic context, the terms trade liberalization, or free trade, are often used. We have to take into consideration however, that globalization should not be seen as a generator of negative effects. It is very true that a lack of regulation beyond the nation-state increasingly stands out, or even legislation beyond the EU, but a wide range of activities, relevant across borders, is on the horizon.

There are various messages from extreme right who misinterpret this development to globalization, considering the intention of leaders to monopolize power. There will always be countries which will rule the world, but I do not have to think so far!

Dan LUCA / Brussels