Meeting the World Bank's EU 'enabler'

The face of the World Bank in Brussels, Massimiliano Paolucci exudes a quiet confidence in his role as an “enabler” of bank relations with EU institutions in their own backyard. Engaging the movers, shakers and policymakers at the European Commission, Parliament and Council, as well at NATO, to shape the dialogue with these actors on the bank’s main partnership priorities is a challenge requiring no small amount of tact and diplomacy. It is a challenge that the unassuming Italian clearly relishes. On the sidelines of the presentation of the bank’s annual Global Monitoring Report titled “Ending Poverty and Sharing Prosperity,” Devex sat down with the World Bank’s special representative to the EU to talk about the obstacles he faces in his role, the solutions he has put in place, and the bank’s priorities in ongoing discussions with EU institutions. Following World Bank President Jim Yong Kim’s reforms, the bank is now organized into a number of tracks: institutions and corporate services, where Paolucci reports directly to the vice president of external and corporate relations; regions; and global practices. “I do not manage projects, but I do manage the dialogue with the institutions to create the conditions for partnerships that will then lead to joint projects, joint studies and joint advocacy initiatives,” he told Devex. “I am a sort of enabler of the collaboration between the World Bank and the institutions I am tasked to deal with.” The bank’s partnership with EU institutions ranges from the very strategic — defining and working on themes that would otherwise be undervalued — to policy discussions and project-specific issues. “The entry points to EU institutions are several, depending on the level of dialogue that we have, depending on the institution we talk to, and depending on what angle of the partnership we take into consideration,” the Italian enabler said. The Brussels office, according to Paolucci, is a microcosm of the World Bank in Washington, D.C. Indeed, the office does not only house his vice president’s department, but is also shared with colleagues that represent other vice presidencies based in Washington, D.C., such as a country director that manages the bank’s portfolio and dialogue with the 28 EU member states and a number of countries in Central Europe. Representatives of the International Finance Corp., the agency of the World Bank Group primarily responsible for private sector engagement efforts, also sit in the office together with representatives of other bank programs such as the global facility on disaster risk reduction. “Each of them does his job and I don’t second-guess them. They have a very specific mandate and very specific interlocutors,” Paolucci emphasized. “My role here is to oversee the dialogue, making sure that we keep a coherent approach with our partners, we deliver the same message, we seize opportunities when available, and we manage risk, by always wearing ‘corporate lenses.’” External and internal challenges The EU representative stressed a number of key external and internal challenges he faces in his role at the bank. The main external challenge, Paolucci said, was the sheer amount and complexity of the interlocutors the bank has to engage with in Europe’s capital — each one of them with a different mandate, responding to a different set of incentives. “At times it’s challenging to think of how to reconcile all of this into an approach that is coherent enough and guarantees continuity and visibility to the World Bank, in an environment where the bank is one of many development actors,” he noted. “[Often] their main focus is the EU and their members.” Internally the challenge is more of a logistical one, he explained. Although the bank has a multitude of visitors — there were 800 missions last year alone — the head of office explained that “Washington remains Washington,” and there are some cultural differences as well as the obvious trans-Atlantic time difference. “I don’t want to say that we are disconnected because we are not, but at times the way we see things are slightly different from the ways these things are discussed or approached in D.C.,” Paolucci said. “That said, technology helps: We are connected through video conferences and the distance becomes less and less, but still we feel it.” A machine trying to adapt Just four months into the implementation of what is the biggest reform in decades, the machine — as he terms it — is still trying to adapt to the new business model. But some change toward better integration is already underway, he said, with some areas being handled collectively by different global practices. Paolucci gave the example of climate change now being handled by a climate change vice president, but also by senior directors for energy and the environment who “look at the issue from different angles.” “When it comes to my interaction with the Commission, I see their collaboration happening,” he said. “That allows me to also have a more informed and effective dialogue when it comes to understanding what the implication of the new energy framework could be, not only for the member states but also for developing countries. So having their collective input helps me to be more effective.” Asked how the ongoing reforms will directly affect the Brussels office, the Italian stressed that the expenditure review has so far consisted of measures that have not had any implications in terms of staff or program cuts. “None of the measures have turned into people being severed from the bank, so that’s not my concern,” he asserted. Commission relations and priorities Among the big ticket issues he’s currently personally discussing with the EU, Paolucci mentioned the post-2015 agenda as being an issue the institutions are very eager to partner up on with the bank, “in order to steer the debate toward those areas where we could make a difference” as the international community pushes the process forward. Other key areas under discussion are infrastructure and energy, in particular how to structure a dialogue as partners, to increase not only the visibility of these issues and the interaction with governments, but also to provide concrete solutions. How to deal with conflict and conflict-affected states in the Middle East and in some parts of Africa was also an issue of core concern, with a joint aim of making sure that both the immediate and medium to long-term issues of concern to those countries were addressed. The other pressing issue on the table right now is the Ebola epidemic. A huge humanitarian crisis, the epidemic has already had a profound impact on the West African economy, and could become even more severe in the future. “It is certainly an issue that concerns us a lot, because if not addressed appropriately it could have repercussions at the global level,” Paolucci said. Last month, the World Bank hosted a high-level meeting on the impact of the Ebola crisis in Washington, D.C., which gathered major development partners and affected country representatives around the same table. The initiative has so far provided $400 million of pledged assistance. According to Paolucci, what should be done next is to help affected countries reform and develop their health systems, to allow them to detect and take early action to respond to such epidemics in future. “We are also thinking about how to help these countries facing the consequent financial constraint,” he said. “It’s not only a health issue: We talk about countries whose farms are facing difficulties, and the crops may not be there the next season.” Paolucci is hoping for a joint breakthrough, together with his EU counterparts, to enable and effect sustainable change for the future. Check out more insights and analysis provided to hundreds of Executive Members worldwide, and subscribe to the Development Insider to receive the latest news, trends and policies that influence your organization.