Speaking in Athens, outgoing US president says backlash against globalisation is giving rise to populist movements
Barack Obama has warned that a backlash against globalisation is boosting populist movements both at home and abroad and called for a course correction so the benefits of an increasingly interconnected world are shared more equally.
In what is likely to be his last major speech on his final visit to Europe as US leader, Obama, shaken by the unexpected victory of Donald Trump in last weeks US presidential election, said in Athens that globalisation could not be rolled back.
We cannot sever the connections that have enabled so much progress, he said. But, he warned, it was leading to increasing inequality around the world, and fast-moving technological innovation as well as causing enormous disruption to many workers lives was making it easier for people to see it.
The current path of globalisation demands a course correction, Obama said. In the years and decades ahead, our countries have to make sure that the benefits of an integrated global economy are more broadly shared by more people, and that the negative impacts are squarely addressed.
The president added: When we see people, global elites, wealthy corporations seemingly living by a different set of rules, avoiding taxes, manipulating loopholes this feeds a profound sense of injustice.
The impulse to pull back from a globalised world is understandable, he said; leaders around the world must do more to reduce inequality, fight corruption, ensure governments are effective, and restore citizens trust in institutions: We have to make clear that governments are there to serve the people.
Americans and Europeans were feeling increasingly disconnected from governments and institutions, he said, praising the European Union as one of the great achievements of human history. But he warned following the UKs Brexit vote and as the continent faces a surge by anti-EU parties in elections next year that disconnection bred suspicion.