Over the past year a co-operative world order — built around trade and the rule of law — has begun to creak and strain. Following its annexation of Crimea, Russia, the eighth-largest economy, was hit by international sanctions. War is raging in the Middle East. Disease, in the form of the Ebola virus, is ravaging parts of Africa. The EU is still struggling to resolve the euro crisis. Efforts at international co-operation to combat these common threats have too often been weak and disappointing.
The year 2015 should be one in which multilateralism and international co-operation make a comeback. Fortunately, the year’s political calendar will present a number of opportunities to do just that across important areas from trade to climate to development and arms control.
The next 12 months are likely to be make-or-break for efforts to achieve an ambitious Transpacific trade deal — the TPP (or Trans-Pacific Partnership). Progress towards a Transatlantic deal, known as TTIP, is less well advanced. But the coming year will give a good sense of whether politicians in Europe and North America are serious about doing a deal. For European politicians in particular who are searching for ways to restore economic optimism, progress on a trade deal would be immensely helpful.