The Assembly,
3. Expressing its satisfaction with the important contribution made first by the Organisation for European Economic Co-operation (OEEC) and subsequently by OECD towards expansion of world trade and capital movements on a multilateral non-discriminatory basis ;
4. Noting the significant improvement of the balance of payments of the OECD area, but expressing its concern at the continued existence of large disequilibria among some countries of this area, and more deeply so at the growing deficits of the non-oil-producing developing countries ;
5. Emphasising that the increasing interdependence of the world economy demands accrued efforts of international co-operation ;
6. Regretting that, despite declarations of goodwill by various governments, there is not sufficient progress in the opening of a real and effective dialogue between developed and developing countries ; acknowledging however that the results of the 7th Special Session of the UN General Assembly (New York, 1-15 September 1975) might function as a breakthrough towards such a dialogue ;
7. Welcoming the creation within OECD of the International Energy Agency and the Financial Support Fund, and expressing the hope that these bodies shall contribute, within their fields of competence, to the solution of present energy and related problems in a spirit of co-operation with oil-producing countries and with due regard to the interests of the developing countries ;
8. Drawing the attention of OECD to Resolution 592 (1975) of the Assembly on the economic consequences of the "limits to growth",
9. Urges OECD :
to intensify its efforts- in the present juncture of prolonged recession, high unemployment and payments disequilibria- to co-ordinate the economic, environmental, social and trade policies of its member countries ;
to make full use of its expertise to favour the economic and social development of those of its member countries which are at an intermediate stage of development ;
to consider carefully- in the elaboration of its long-term co-operation programme in the energy sector- the financial and environmental aspects of a high degree of self-sufficiency in energy of the OECD area ;
to take fully into account the implications of resource limitations on long-term growth in the formulation of its short-term policy decisions and recommendations ;
to assess- in the elaboration of new strategies in the various sectors falling within the competence of OECD- the possible consequences and effects of such strategies on the environment and the quality of life ;
to pursue its present efforts for achieving concrete progress at an early stage in certain priority fields of development co-operation, such as commodities, food and agricultural production, technology and the transfer of real resources to developing countries, with a view to arriving at a new international economic order based on a more equitable sharing of wealth in the world and compatible with the world's ecological needs ;
to assess ways in which trade can best contribute to development co-operation and, to this end, to promote the progressive improvement of the generalised system of preferences of its member countries in favour of developing countries ;
to favour a stable flow of financial resources from oil-exporting countries, and consider the opportunity of creating an international system for the co-ordination of measures which, on a world-wide scale and in a democratic way, stimulate investments ;
10. Welcoming the fruitful co-operation between OECD and the Council of Europe in the field of science and technology witnessed recently by the presence of a Council of Europe delegation at the meeting of the Committee for Scientific and Technological Policy at ministerial level held in June 1975 ;
11. Noting with satisfaction the work being undertaken by OECD on the development and utilisation of social sciences, particularly with regard to the association of social sciences with policy making ;
12. Welcoming OECD's work on the management of technology for social and economic benefit, and technology transfer to developing countries ;
13. Recalling the work started in 1971 on multinational enterprises, and noting with satisfaction the decision of January 1973 to establish a Committee on International Investment and Multinational Enterprises ;
14. Welcoming the holding of regular ministerial meetings on science as an occasion to take stock of action on proposals of the preceding conference, of bringing to ministerial attention issues of likely future importance to member countries and of giving new impetus to OECD's work ;
15. Convinced that one of OECD's most important roles is that of remaining a forward-looking "think-tank" organisation,
16. Calls upon OECD and its member states :
to accelerate work in the field of innovation in the procedures and structures of government ;
to accelerate work on the drawing up of a code of conduct for multinational enterprises, to take into account the proposals emanating from the reports of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, and to proceed without delay to the preparation of a comprehensive study of the role of multinational enterprises ;
to make sure that effective follow-up action is taken on the recommendations of the ministerial conferences and meetings ;
to consider the desirability of adapting the structure and procedures of OECD in such a way as to make it possible for the organisation to act more quickly and effectively in emergency situations ;
17. Invites OECD, taking the occasion of its fifteen years of existence, to arrange for a critical analysis of its past activities, with a view to drawing up a more comprehensive outline of what it considers as its task and possibilities for the future, in the light of world-wide trends of the time, in order to contribute to the development of the world economy and to promote a fairer distribution of income and wealth in the world.