In 2015, at the UN Sustainable Development Summit held in New York, 193 countries approved the agenda of goals for 2030.  These new goals are the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). The United Nations defines sustainable development as “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”.

These goals are broader in scope than the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDG), signed in 2000, and involve more actors committed to eradicating poverty and fighting climate change.

On this occasion, the agenda calls for 17 goals to be achieved by 2030, including eradication of poverty and hunger in the world; elimination of gender disparity; caring for the planet as our only home by protecting the environment, biodiversity and combating climate change; and ensuring access to basic services like health care and education. A goal was also set that contemplates the creation of networks and partnerships between countries to work jointly to achieve the other goals.

EU commitment to the SDGs

The European Union has made a commitment to adopting the sustainable development goals and implementing them in Community legislation, prioritising its activities to address the three fundamental development pillars: economic, social and environmental.

It has also established, as one of the steps to be taken to achieve the 2030 agenda, the goal of creating a space for reflection on development with a longer-term perspective. Along these lines, it is also seeking to make the policies implemented in the European Union applicable beyond European borders by supporting third countries in the consolidation of peaceful, stable and resilient states.

The European Commissioner for International Cooperation and Development, Neven Mimica, expresses his commitment to achievement of the SDGs as follows: “I aim for a genuine consensus, under the shared ownership of EU Institutions and all Member States that will help us spearhead global action to implement the Sustainable Development Goals.” 

FIIAPP in the 2030 Agenda

The International and Ibero-American Foundation for Administration and Public Policies (FIIAPP), as a public agency that manages international cooperation projects, works in accordance with the lines of action of European foreign policy.

Its work focuses on modernisation of the public institutions of the countries it works in through different areas. It has a direct relationship with the SDGs in the following ways:

–  Social policies and rights: In this area, FIIAPP manages projects that contribute to the promotion and protection of basic social services like health care, education and employment. Here we find EUROsociAL, a programme to support social cohesion in Latin America through the exchange of experiences between experts on different subjects, such as justice, governance and public finance. This project contributes to the achievement of goal 16, “Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels”, and 17, “Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development”.

– Economy and public finance: In this area, FIIAPP implements projects to support countries in building sounder tax systems that will enable them to increase their national revenue, thereby strengthening the government. This is the objective of the Public Finance Modernization in Algeria project.  These projects contribute to achievement of goal 17.1, “Strengthen domestic resource mobilization, including through international support to developing countries to improve domestic capacity for tax and other revenue collection”.

– Development and communication policies: In this area, FIIAPP focuses on supporting the governments of the countries where it works to improve the infrastructure, transport and construction sectors. Here we find the project FIIAPP is working on to support the railway system in Ukraine, which in its second phase aims to improve Ukraine’s rail transport system and adapt it to European regulations and standards. This project supports progress towards goal 11.2, “Provide access to safe, affordable, accessible and sustainable transport systems for all, improving road safety”.

– Green economy: The projects managed by FIIAPP in this area are governed by, among other regulations, the regulatory framework of the EU on climate and energy for 2030. This sector includes the Euroclima project to support climate change mitigation and adaptation policies designed to protect the environment in Latin America.  This project is consistent with goal 13, “Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts”.

– Security and the fight against organised crime: In this aspect, FIIAPP works on projects to fight illegal immigration, human trafficking and drug trafficking. One example of this is the project to support drug legislation in Bolivia, in which Spanish security experts on drug issues work to train their Bolivian counterparts.  The institutional support, in this sense, helps to achieve goal 16.4, “Significantly reduce illicit financial and arms flows, strengthen recovery and return of stolen assets, and combat all forms of organized crime”, and 16.11, “Strengthen relevant national institutions, including through international cooperation, for building capacity at all levels, in particular in developing countries, to prevent violence and combat terrorism and crime”.

– Justice and transparency: In this area, the projects managed by FIIAPP are focussed on fighting corruption and promoting transparency. Here we find the EUROMED Justice project, which aims to contribute to the development of an effective, efficient and democratic judicial system in the Euro-Mediterranean zone that will protect and respect human rights through regional cooperation (cooperation in which various countries in a region participate) in the areas of crime and access to justice. This project is consistent with goal 16, specifically with point 3, “Promote the rule of law at the national and international levels and ensure equal access to justice for all”.

The first Twinnings began in May, 1998, when the countries of Eastern Europe entered Europe to make them better prepared for the enlargement of the European Union.

It is a specific type of project in which Spain occupies third place in the European Union in terms of the budget implemented, and fourth in projects won. Specifically, Spain implements 10% of the projects that circulate.

To better understand their purpose and the types of projects that exist, we talked to Rafael Rodríguez-Ponga, National Contact Point for Twinnings at Spain’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation.

What are the European Union’s Twinning programmes?

The Twinning programmes of the European Commission are institutional cooperation programmes that are funded by the European Commission from the EU external action budget.

They represent a very particular type of funding. Specifically, they are from public administration to public administration. They must be implemented by and for agencies that are part of, or are themselves, public administrations, and they are managed by civil servants.

They are also results-oriented, which means that the two parties, both the administration that wins the project and the beneficiary administration, commit to achieving a series of results in a contract signed in advance.

Furthermore the defining feature of Twinnings is that the two parties, in addition to making a commitment, work together.

How do they function?

Well, a civil servant from the administration that wins the project relocates temporarily to the site of the other administration for one to two years, depending on the Twinning, and helps the civil servants there develop, work on and promote European Union legislation.

What is the purpose of Twinnings?

It´s cooperation between the different administrations. It’s to improve the administrative capacities of other beneficiary countries. It’s to bring these beneficiaries up to European standards so that they function increasingly better.

And it’s to export our experience, our working methods and our fundamental values, such as democracy or human rights. It’s to bring these neighbours closer to the EU acquis. In all sectors, from the justice sector, which is generally the one with the most Twinnings, to finance, energy, structural funds, consumer protection, etc.

Could you give us an example of a project FIIAPP is participating in?

We have a Twinning in Algeria for setting up a Directorate-General of Traffic (DGT), as no organisation currently exists there to regulate this area. So we have sent a civil servant from Spain’s DGT to Algeria to help set up a DGT over the next two years, and to look at how to improve traffic and reduce traffic deaths in that country.

Listen to our radio programme, Public Cooperation Around the World, on Radio 5 (RNE), about Twinnings here.

HISTORY OF THE FAS

Actions to fight poverty by the Angolan government started to take shape with the creation of the Social Support Fund (FAS) on 28th October 1994 through Decree No. 44/94 of the Council of Ministers within the framework of the Economic and Social Programme – PES/94. As a government body, it was granted legal personality and administrative and financial autonomy in its founding statutes.

To accomplish its mission, the FAS has utilised funds from the Angolan government and grants from diverse funding sources, such as World Bank credits, multilateral donations from the European Union and bilateral donations (Norway, Japan, Sweden, Italy, the Netherlands, and the United States of America) totalling 186.3 US dollars.

WHY FUNDS WERE REQUESTED FROM THE EU

In 2013, the FAS expanded its scope to provide national coverage and invest in regions of the countries with extremely vulnerable populations in terms of access to goods, services and opportunities.

The main objective of the Local Development Project (LDP) financed by the European Union is to combat poverty in Angola through effective decentralisation of service delivery, increased opportunities for business, and income generation. Its specific objectives are the following:

Improve the access of rural and vulnerable families to basic social services and economic opportunities.

Strengthen the institutional capacities of Angolan municipalities.

The FAS has always been attentive to context changes in order to adapt them to the real needs of the target public, i.e., the most vulnerable populations. This has meant transitioning from emergency intervention, whose main priority was reconstruction and construction of local physical capital (peri-urban and rural areas), to a type of intervention focused on strengthening physical, human and social forms of capital, and, more recently, economic capital (since 2011). The primary objective of this is to strengthen the 26 municipalities so that local and municipal leaders participate in their development process through better utilisation of the potential and productivity they have.

In this way, with this intervention, the FAS is working in the following areas:

Strengthening physical capital in the face of growing limitations on the access of populations to basic social and economic services (education, health, water, market, bridges and temporary bridges).

Strengthening social capital to address the need to continue stimulating the participation of citizens in identifying and solving the problems of their towns through public consultation mechanisms, bringing citizens, the civil society sector, the private sector and public bodies (municipal administrations) closer together.

Strengthening human capital because, during the war, there was a great exodus from rural zones towards the cities in search of protection; the majority of municipalities were left without qualified administrators, and so it is necessary to invest in training, not only of organised civil society but also to build the capacities of the employees of the local administration.

Strengthening economic capital because most economic and productive sectors which could be a means of lifting the local economy are not trained or developed enough to represent an added value for collecting revenue for municipalities, and because the main source of income for families tends to be the informal sector, especially in the case of women.

Helena Farinha

Deputy Director General of the FAS