International organizations are needed to oversee fair distribution, Vatican offical says

Vatican City, Jun 1, 2004 / 22:00 pm

A speech given by Msgr. Ettore Balestrero, an official of the Vatican Secretariat of State, indicating the need for greater control of world markets, was made public today.

Msge. Balestrero’s speech was delivered on May 31, the opening day of the Economic Forum of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, which is being held in Prague, the Czech Republic. 55 states are participating in the forum which closes on June 4.

Msgr. Balestrero noted that "the OSCE strategy document for the economic and environmental dimension acknowledges that liberalization and technological change have not benefited all the participating States equally, thus contributing, in some cases, to deepening economic disparities between and also within our countries.”

“Notwithstanding the progress achieved,” he continued, “some participating states still need assistance for transition, reforms and integration into the world economy in a fair and effective manner."

He said that "the different conditions that must be respected in order to carry on a process of sustainable development make one fear that many countries will not be able to do so on their own.”

“Thus a fundamental requirement for building up an institutional capacity for economic development consists in creating adequate instruments for the redistribution of global resources. ...  It requires a concerted effort and economic and financial investments."

"We know;" said Msgr. Balestrero, "that international institutions and mechanisms which might possibly favour such a transfer are still lacking.”

He noted that “developed countries at the national level adopt policies aimed at correcting market failures and reduced opportunities for depressed regions. In some countries it may well be that public decision-taking and the public sector itself are excessive.”

Msgr. Balestrero underscored, however, that “the central point to be made is that on the global level the opposite is the case: institutional development has stopped at market-related structures.”

“It is therefore important,” he concluded, “for OSCE's economic commitment to be aware of this limitation and therefore to promote adequate programmes of aid and redistribution."