15/11/2016
Celebración en Bruselas de la Cumbre de directores de la red de agencias europeas de cooperación internacional “Practitioners’ Network”
Stefano Manservisi, director general de DEVCO, a la izquierda Krysz Jurek, director de la oficina en Bruselas de British Council
The directors of European cooperation agencies are meeting to define and discuss how to work together to develop international cooperation projects funded by the European Commission.
During the summit, held in Brussels, the cooperation agencies, members of the Practitioners Network, presented a joint declaration in which they commit to strengthening their collaboration and working collectively with the European institutions, paving the way forward for moving toward closer and more effective cooperation among the different European agencies.
The declaration presented is a response to the current context in which common challenges are growing, European Union programs are increasingly ambitious, and the European Commission has a diminished implementation capacity.
The International and Ibero-American Foundation for Administration and Public Policy (FIAP) is actively participating, through the Practitioners Network, in this review of the joint declaration, providing contributions and suggestions for a simpler and more effective implementation of European development programs.
Practitioners’ Network Declaration
The joint declaration of the European agencies is supported by the mandate of the Council of the European Union, which, in its conclusions of May 12, 2016, calls on the European Commission and the European External Action Service to promote cooperation between European agencies within the framework of Joint Implementation.
The main objective of this declaration is to achieve a commitment, at the highest level of the organizations, to foster the appropriate context that facilitates joint implementation. This aims to achieve greater complementarity and visibility of European cooperation. The meeting also served to learn firsthand about the difficulties other agencies are facing, identify common challenges, and facilitate future collaborations.
The declaration serves as a roadmap for the agencies to discuss their own legal or financial limitations when working together and seek common agreements to overcome these limitations over the coming months.
What is the Practitioners’ Network?
The Practitioners’ Network for European Network Cooperation is a platform for coordination, harmonization, and exchange of ideas among European cooperation agencies. It is currently playing a key role in the reform of two issues of utmost importance to the EU development cooperation system: the Financial Regulation (financial framework) and the revision of the European Consensus on Development (political framework).
It is comprised of 14 agencies from 12 European Union countries, including the International and Ibero-American Foundation for Administration and Public Policies (FIAP) and the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID). The European Commission is an observer.
