As I recently remarked1, the pillars acting as a basis for  1  See the opening address “Global imbalances and capital flows in the era of new technologies”, at the conference bearing the same name organised by the Banco de España and the Reinventing Bretton Woods Committee. Available at https://www.bde.es/f/webbde/GAP/Secciones/SalaPrensa/IntervencionesPublicas/Gobernador/Arc/Fic/hdc100919.pdf. 2  fundamental institutions for the global economy such as the WTO and the IMF were complemented by certain mechanisms and procedures. The aim thereby was to ensure they fulfilled their mission and to resolve potential conflicts on the basis of the principles of justice and equity for all the participating States. Such arrangements have, for decades, enabled the containment of certain unilateral actions. From my standpoint, and taking stock, the liberalisation of trade and financial exchanges in recent decades under these institutions has made, and continues to make, a net positive contribution to global growth. This has, moreover, helped improve substantially the opportunities for development, especially in the poorest countries, drastically reducing inequality and extreme poverty globally, at least at a pace never previously seen. Accordingly, these principles and institutions are, for me, as necessary today as they were then. However, the world has seen far-reaching change in the past 75 years. Currently, the setting of rapid transformation means some adjustments are needed to update international economic governance. Specifically, one of the key challenges at present is to improve the adaptation of the multilateral rules-based system in force since the Bretton Woods Agreements to the current circumstances and to future challenges.

28.01.2020  Multilateralism and globalisation reforms Presentation of the book Excesos: Amenazas a la prosperidad global, by Emilio Ontiveros Pablo Hernández de Cos Governor  Good evening Honourable Minister and Authorities, ladies and gentlemen. It is an honour to be here at the presentation of Professor Emilio Ontiveros’s book Excesos: Amenazas a la prosperidad global (Excesses: Threats to global prosperity), and to share some thoughts with you on the subjects it addresses. As has habitually been the case in his extensive academic and popularised work, Professor Ontiveros hits the nail on the head in his analysis of one of the main challenges posed by the current international landscape: the characterisation of and the risks associated with the economic and financial globalisation witnessed in recent decades. His work is immense, as it requires deep-seated knowledge of the wealth of interrelated factors that shape the highly complex and changing economic, political and social situation at present. As is also habitual for the author, he is successful in his venture: he presents a profound and well-structured analysis of the issue. And one that is, moreover, reader-friendly and comprehensible. Our congratulations, Emilio. 1. The book’s main line of argument As Professor Ontiveros rightly says, the globalisation and growing openness of economies to the flow of trade, finance, persons and knowledge, lauded by many just some years back as the fundamental driver of global economic development, is now questioned by significant economic, political and social agents, at least in its current form.