Ernesto Zedillo the former President of Mexico and Director of the Yale Center for the Study of Globalization has recently delivered the report of the commission he led on the governance of the World Bank Group.
The report puts forward proposals to streamline the governance board structure, improve the representation of low income countries and to remove the anachronistic “understanding” that the World Bank should be led by an American and the International Monetary Fund by a European. It also proposes measures to improve the accountability of WB leadership and new financial mechanisms.
The report notes that, while European Countries provide 60% of International Development Assistance this should not translate into representation at board level, where they hold 30% of places. The report does not directly refer to the role of the EU, perhaps because it was delivered before the ratification of the Lisbon Treaty, but it does raise a question for EU member states, should they seek to unite as one powerful voice at board level or seek more places but with less individual influence, or perhaps they could achieve the best of both worlds.