A European-Latin American space of shared values

For the future Multiannual Financial Framework 2021-2027 (MFF) from the European Union (EU), the European Commission (EC) is debating the approval of an external action mechanism, the Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument (NDICI). This new tool will group together most of the existing instruments for development cooperation and represents a commitment to innovation, dialogue with partner countries, and building shared values. 

As part of this period of redesigning the Commission’s foreign policy, the Carolina Foundation organised a seminar “La Agenda 2030 y el desarrollo en Iberoamérica. Retos para las políticas de cooperación internacional (The 2030 Agenda and development in Ibero-America. Challenges for international cooperation policies” , which was attended by Jolita Butkeviciene, the director for Latin America and the Caribbean in the Directorate General for Cooperation and Development of the European Commission (DEVCO).

The seminar also included the participation of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the European Union and Cooperation, the Directorate General of Sustainable Development Policies (DGPOLDES), and the main stakeholders in the Spanish cooperation community, FIIAPP and AECID, as well as the European Commission (DEVCO) and other institutions, such as the Ibero-American General Secretariat (SEGIB), the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean(ECLAC) and the OECD Development Centre.

The main topics covered in the meeting explored the concept of “development in transition”, the multidimensional nature of development, the importance of different  types of cooperation, the opportunities and demands posed by the 2030 Agenda, as well as the financing mechanisms of development. All of which was focused, mainly, on the reality of Latin America and the Caribbean.

Following her participation in the seminar, Jolita Butkeviciene visited FIIAPP and held a working meeting, alongside her team members Felice Zaccheo and Jorge de la Caballería, with the management and teams of several regional cooperation programmes run by FIIAPP in Latin America: EUROsociAL+, EL PAcCTO, COPOLAD and EUROCLIMA+.

In the work meeting the main future challenges for these programs and their importance in the articulation of the recent one have been commented.

Joint Communication to the European Parliament and the European Union Council, Latin America and the Caribbean: joining forces for a common future.

FIIAPP has urged an ever greater role for peer-to-peer learning and cooperation between public administrations in relations between the EU and Latin America and the Caribbean.

In addition to meeting with FIIAPP, DEVCO representatives have also held a series of working meetings with other Spanish cooperation stakeholders, such as AECID.