Accountability and Transparency in Bretton Woods Institution. Two Concrete Experiences

Abstract

The Bretton Woods Institutions hold persistent questions about accountability and transparency. The former is undermined by the lack of clear mechanisms overseeing the implementation of policies and programs; the latter has not met a real interest of decision-makers yet. The experience in the parliamentary network of the World Bank (PNOWB) reinforced my conviction that the importance of an effective public control over international financial institutions is not fully recognized among MPs and MEPs. The Greek crisis highlighted the European resistance in establishing common means of debt mutualization, which has triggered the intervention of the IMF in a strictly EU crisis. The austerity measures implemented were clearly unfit to solve the country’s imbalances, and the only result has been the suffering of the Greek population, as acknowledged by the IMF itself.