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The fifth annual Carlo Schmid Programme (CSP) Network meeting [www.csp-network.org] on the possibilities of international economic policy under the terms of globalization analyzed global regulation approaches and highlighted the different fields of international cooperation. These included economic policy, environmental policy, and development policy. The CSP Network is the politically independent alumni network of the Carlo Schmid Programme for Internships in International Organisations and EU Institutions of the German Academic Exchange Service and the German National Academic Foundation. This year's annual meeting was the fifth of its kind and brought together a wide array of renowned experts from ministries, NGOs, international corporations, and alumni of the CSP.

Despite the conference's broad agenda, the financial crisis turned out to be the overarching theme. The question reiterated most frequently was: do Western institutions work effectively or are they part of the problem? Does the global economy need greater regulation?

The first panel discussion between two leading professors for business law, Markus Krajewski (University of Potsdam) and Christian Tietje (Martin-Luther-University Halle Wittenberg), saw the traditional and well-known dispute between regulation vs. laissez-faire advocates. Both experts, however, agreed that the present crisis has to be understood as a result of the global financial system and not as an operational accident. Nevertheless, simple condemnation of managers would be short-sighted as they operated as instructed and crises are an integral part of the market. What is historical about the current crisis is its global dimension.

The appropriate conclusion to draw from the current situation is the need for revision of international institutions such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The IMF in particular is an integral part of the problem and failed to see the crisis coming. Under its present structure, it might not be able to contribute to a solution as it does not reflect the reality of international currency markets. One proposal for the restructuring of IMF voiced on the panel was to incorporate the G20 to meet the concerns of the global financial market. Furthermore, the IMF should exercise greater precaution to avoid crises before they unfold.

A second panel deepened the discussion on the question of the responsibility of international institutions in times of crises. It debated the role of the G8 in a global economy without limits: is it an intermediary or guide to global social standards? Wolfgang Heller (Director of the International Labour Organization in Germany), Susanne Hoffmann, (Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs), and Dr. Matthias Koehler (Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology) examined the G8 agenda-setting power with regard to social standards on the basis of the "Decent Work Agenda." German Chancellor Angela Merkel supported the Agenda at the G8 summit in Heiligendamm in 2007, thus increasing the issue's visibility and publicity. In spite of the skepticism that the G8 is confronted with, it can make use of this new-found publicity to exert pressure and set the international agenda.

It can be hoped that institutions such as the G8 might make use of this power more often, especially with regard to moral and ethical standards in the global economy. The latter part of the conference focused on exactly these issues and discussed the economic commitment of German companies abroad and their responsibility to act as role models by setting social standards as well as the EU's responsibilities and objectives in dealing with the Third World (namely the Africa-Caribbean-Pacific countries).

While there is little doubt that both German businesses and the EU aim to act in a socially aware fashion and at least try to not only put commercial interests at the center of their strategy, the question is justified as to whether these good intentions will be put into practice in times of economic crisis. Therefore, the current climate of economic uncertainty may present an opportunity to reevaluate our economic system, question our behavior at home and abroad and perhaps reorganize institutions in a way that better reflects today's economic reality.

A final panel addressed the question of whether China's growing economic (and political) involvement in almost all African nations should cause concern on the part of Western countries: the discussion between experts from research institutes such as the GPPi, GiGA and the Wittenberg Center for Global Ethics covered issues such as the impact of China's involvement on the development agenda of, for example, the European Union, and the implications of China's foreign policy principle of non-involvement in internal affairs of its partner countries. The experts agreed that China has seized opportunities in Africa which the Europeans have failed to recognize. They agreed further that China's success in Africa is inter alia due to the fact that it treats its African counterparts as equal partners and that China has gained credibility through its own unprecedented economic development process.

The CSP Network conference found its culmination in a magisterial keynote speech by Prof. Dr. Henrik Enderlein, Associate Dean and Professor for Political Economy at the Hertie School of Governance.



Maie-Brit Rüter works as a junior consultant for Kaiser Communication in Berlin. Before taking up this post in December 2008, she was a trainee with Bohnen Kallmorgen & Partner and worked as an editor for atlantic-community.org.