Javier Solana: We're past the point of closed borders, it's time for smart multilateralism

Javier Solana contends that unilateralism and the rejection of international governance, exemplified by Donald Trump's 2016 election victory and Brexit, are non-viable due to global interconnectedness. He highlights the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) between the EU and Canada as a model for prosperity-enhancing trade with high environmental and labor standards. Solana emphasizes the critical role of the US in fighting climate change and warns against the cancellation of the Paris agreement, while praising the first-ever global deal to limit CO2 emissions in the civil aviation industry, brokered largely by the EU.

• The shift toward unilateralism and the rejection of multilateral bodies like the World Trade Organization (WTO), the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), and the North American Free-Trade Agreement (NAFTA) risks creating separate trade blocs and a new era of great power competition, leading to a general loss of welfare.
• The Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) between the European Union and Canada is a positive development that introduces high labor, phytosanitary, and environmental standards, and is projected to increase the EU's GDP by approximately €12 billion ($12.7 billion) and increase trade of goods and services by nearly 25% for both parties.
• The United States is essential to global climate efforts as it is responsible for 16% of global greenhouse-gas emissions; however, the promise by Donald Trump to "cancel" the Paris agreement threatens these efforts.
• A landmark agreement was reached to limit CO2 emissions in the civil aviation industry, the first global sector agreement of its kind. This deal, brokered by the EU and the International Civil Aviation Organization, requires airlines to offset CO2 emission growth from 2020 via "emission units" from projects such as renewables.

APA

Solana, J. (2016). Javier Solana: We're past the point of closed borders, it's time for smart multilateralism. World Economic Forum. https://www.weforum.org/stories/climate-action/javier-solana-were-past-the-point-of-closed-borders-its-time-for-smart-multilateralism/

Chicago

Solana, Javier. Javier Solana: We're past the point of closed borders, it's time for smart multilateralism. World Economic Forum, 2016. https://www.weforum.org/stories/climate-action/javier-solana-were-past-the-point-of-closed-borders-its-time-for-smart-multilateralism/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Solana |first1=Javier |title=Javier Solana: We're past the point of closed borders, it's time for smart multilateralism |publisher=World Economic Forum |date=2 December 2016 |url=https://www.weforum.org/stories/climate-action/javier-solana-were-past-the-point-of-closed-borders-its-time-for-smart-multilateralism/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{solana2016javier, author = {Solana, Javier}, title = {{Javier Solana: We're past the point of closed borders, it's time for smart multilateralism}}, publisher = {World Economic Forum}, year = {2016}, month = dec, url = {https://www.weforum.org/stories/climate-action/javier-solana-were-past-the-point-of-closed-borders-its-time-for-smart-multilateralism/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }