“In today’s interconnected world, policies have impact beyond their intended geographical and thematic scope. They therefore need to be designed, implemented and evaluated by taking into consideration the impact they have on other parts of the world, beyond national and regional EU borders.” said Rachel Bayani, representative of the Baha’i International Community (BIC) in the light of a series of meetings the BIC held about the European Commission’s Better Regulations Agenda.

Tool 35 of the Better Regulation Toolbox, a component of the broader agenda, calls for “assessing the likely effects of different policy initiatives on developing countries”. The purpose of the meetings was to explore how Tool 35 is being used. In particular, the BIC was interested in understanding what forums and mechanisms would allow policy makers to meaningfully engage with stakeholders on other continents to better understand the impact of a policy on a given place.

During the meetings with European Commission and European Parliament policy makers, as well as with civil society and think tanks, the BIC highlighted the need for the advancement of the global common good to be approached as a primary objective in policy making processes.