'Give greater say to emerging economies in World Bank'

WASHINGTON: A high-level commission of the World Bank yesterday called for sweeping changes to reflect the world's new economic order and said European countries are overrepresented in the decision-making executive board.

In a long-awaited report, the 11-member commission, led by former Mexican President Ernesto Zedillo, said the Bank's effectiveness was undermined by a hierarchy dominated by the United States and Europe "offering many member countries too little voice and too few opportunities for participation".

"We see the World Bank Group maintaining its central role in the global financial architecture, but, like you, believe it must continuously adjust to changing global realities," Zedillo said in a letter to World Bank President Robert Zoellick.