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Next week ushers in another round of negotiations on a Framework Tax Convention at the UN headquarters in New York. Recently, the Swiss Cantons of Basel City and Zug, noted for their low corporate tax rates, again provided new material illustrating why this is an absolute necessity.

To align themselves with the Paris Agreement, banks have established and extolled the virtues of voluntary climate alliances. A recent European Central Bank study shows them to be ineffective.

A careful reading of the International Cooperation Dispatch 2025–2028 sent by the Government to the Parliament left us somewhat aghast. But the big shock came at the beginning of June, when the IC also came under scrutiny in the Council of States as part of the discussion on the army dispatch.

The Federal Council adopted the long-awaited Dispatch on the 2025–2028 International Cooperation Strategy in mid-May. In it, the Council stands by its policy of funding aid to Ukraine at the expense of the Global South, thereby ignoring the outcomes of the public consultation.

A new regulation prohibits the import into the EU of the seven products most linked to deforestation. There must be no harm to small producers in the South.

For the first time two years ago, Colombia elected a President, in the person of Gustavo Petro, who did not come from the old elites. In a country where huge swathes of territory are still controlled by armed groups, his government has set an ambitious goal, that of "Paz Total" – total peace.

Negotiations are now in progress at the UN on the future drafting of the Framework Convention on International Cooperation in Tax Matters. Our tax policy expert was on hand, and was impressed by the negotiating strength of the African countries.

Eighty years ago, 43 countries met in the US resort town of Bretton Woods and laid the groundwork for the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. The entire post-war order is often exaggeratedly ascribed to that conference. A recently published book puts things in perspective.

Bolivia is gripped by a severe political crisis and its economic situation is dire. But growing urbanisation also offers opportunities for sustainable poverty alleviation, says Martín del Castillo.