Spain, a key partner in European cooperation

The heads of Spanish Cooperation have held a series of high-level meetings with authorities from the European Union (EU) to address the structural reforms that the Spanish system is undertaking, outlining Spain’s priorities and proposals in the planning of European development and cooperation funds.

The new Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument (NDICI), with a budget of around 72 billion euros and whose programming has been discussed at these meetings, is part of the EU’s 2021-2027 Multi-Annual Financial Framework that will be reflected in EU budgets over the next seven years. Spain has supported the simplification and flexibility envisaged by the NDICI because, according to the Secretary of State for International Cooperation, Ángeles Moreno Bau, “it will make for rapid responses, and more significant, effective and efficient European development programmes.”

After Germany and France, Spain is the third-largest manager of EU-allocated funds and a key partner in European cooperation, especially in Latin American and African countries.

In their virtual meetings, Ángeles Moreno Bau was accompanied by the general director of Sustainable Development Policies, Gabriel Ferrero, and by the directors of the two major Spanish cooperation institutions: Magdy Martínez Solimán, head of the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID) and Anna Terrón, director of FIIAPP.

Among the issues addressed by these European cooperation and development experts were neighbourhood, civil protection and humanitarian aid, with a focus on coordinating Spanish and European programmes and progress in the Spanish Cooperation response strategy with regard to the pandemic and Spain’s participation in Team Europe Initiatives.

In meetings with Koen Doens, Director General of International Cooperation and Development (DEVCO) for the European Commission and Maciej Popowski, acting Director General of European Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations (NEAR), Moreno Bau called for greater coordination in immigration matters in the southern neighbourhood.

Finally, in her conversation with Stefano Sannino, the Deputy Secretary General for Economic and Global Affairs of the European External Action Service (EEAS), the two discussed the role of Spanish Cooperation in Europe and its relevance to the legal and financial reforms undertaken in order to modernise their capacity for action and adapt them to the objectives of the 2030 Agenda.