The WTO as Major Driver of Sustainable Development and its Reform Process

The purpose of the research project “L’Organizzazione mondiale del commercio quale protagonista dello sviluppo sostenibile nel rilancio del Sistema multilaterale”, co-funded by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (Ministero degli Affari Esteri e della Cooperazione Internazionale (MAECI)), is to present and analyse the WTO as a major sustainability actor, also considering its reform efforts to promote fairness and inclusivity in the global economy, and better, more effective, management and functioning of the WTO Agreements and the WTO institutional structure. The research has been conducted constantly considering the approach and contribution of the European Union to the sustainability issues and reform process of the multilateral trading system: being the present study also addressed to Italian diplomats, the EU supranational dimension is regularly present in the works of the research team, as the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs develops its relevant activities also within the EU policies and in collaboration with the EU institutions. Special attention has been devoted to the WTO compatibility of major instruments of the European Green Deal, and to the development dimension, focusing on the African Countries through the analysis of the Piano Mattei.