The Diplomat
Last week, Madrid hosted the annual general meeting of the Practitioners’ Network Corporation (PN), which brings together 25 development cooperation agencies from 18 European Union member states and whose rotating presidency had been held until now by the International and Ibero-American Foundation for Public Administration and Policy (FIIAPP), a state public sector entity that is part of the Spanish cooperation network.
Representatives of 25 cooperation agencies met in Madrid on May 10 and 11 to reflect on the measures needed to implement the new approach of European cooperation to global development and to address the coordination of the efforts of all agencies in favor of the green, digital and just transition agenda and European values such as the rule of law and social cohesion.
During the two-day meeting, participants had the opportunity to review the achievements of the past year and discuss strategic priorities and enhanced international partnerships within the European Development Architecture. At the end of the meeting, FIIAPP and SNV (an international non-profit development organization) handed over the chairmanship of the Network to Expertise France, the French public agency for the design and implementation of international technical cooperation projects. Spain is represented in the Network by the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID), which chaired it between 2019 and 2020 (and of which it has been a member since its creation in 2007), and the FIIAPP itself.
During the opening of the assembly, the State Secretary for International Cooperation, Pilar Cancela, underlined Spain’s commitment to Team Europe and affirmed that “to achieve alliances with our partners, it is essential to cooperate and develop partnerships also within Europe”.
For her part, FIIAPP Director Anna Terrón said that “it is an honor for Spain to have co-led this fantastic team over the past year.” “Europe has a unique cooperation proposal for the world, which can bring us closer to many of the goals of the 2030 Agenda without leaving anyone behind,” she continued. “Our Team Europe members have a clear purpose and a way to complement each other. The integration with European development banks and development finance networks in this team has been a significant step in our co-chairmanship,” he added.
Over the next year, Expertise France will be responsible for leading the Network and promoting European cooperation, the Team Europe approach and the implementation of the Global Gateway strategy (an EU initiative to invest in infrastructure projects and establish economic partnerships based on principles such as democracy, good governance and transparency). One of the main objectives will be to maintain and deepen the dialogue between the members of the Network with other actors, such as JEFIC (Joint European Financiers for International Cooperation) and EDFI (the Association of bilateral European Development Finance Institutions), towards a common roadmap.
The director of the French agency, Jérémie Pellet, declared that, “in an increasingly unstable context, development cooperation is more important than ever. It is an honor to assume the Presidency of the Network and to work to consolidate the emerging European Cooperation System”.
