Eduardo González
The Spanish Government has assured that Spain and Costa Rica have already “practically” agreed on the content of their future bilateral Social Security Agreement, which will protect workers who go from one country to another to work.
In response to a parliamentary question from EH Bildu, the Executive assured at the end of December that Spain has “the greatest interest in the negotiation of a Security Agreement with Costa Rica” because there is no bilateral or multilateral Social Security norm between the two countries.
On the occasion of the visit of former President Carlos Alvarado to Madrid, on March 28, 2022, the two Governments signed the Letter of Understanding for the Development of a Social Security Agreement, but, after several meetings of the negotiating committee of the Agreement using the format videoconference, the process was interrupted as a result of the change of Government in Costa Rica.
The current Government of Rodrigo Chaves expressed in May 2023 its willingness to continue advancing in the negotiation of the bilateral Social Security Agreement and the Administrative Agreement for its application, but the process has been slowed down by the need to introduce internal reforms in Costa Rica to continue advancing in the negotiation, which “will require a longer period than that foreseen in the last negotiating meeting.”
According to the parliamentary response, “the intention of the Government of Spain is to agree as soon as possible on the definitive texts of the Social Security Convention and the Administrative Agreement for the application of the Convention to then begin the subsequent procedures for its signature and entry into force.”
“As of today, the content of the Agreement has practically been agreed upon, pending the final wording of part of its articles, the completion of the negotiation of the Administrative Agreement for its application and the completion, by Costa Rica, of the internal actions prior to the signing of the Agreement,” indicated the Executive. When a joint agreement is reached, the signature authorization procedure by the Council of Ministers will begin in Spain. Once the Agreement is signed, its parliamentary processing will begin in the Congress of Deputies and the Senate.
In the absence of an international system that coordinates worker contributions and benefits in different States (with the exception of the European Union), bilateral Social Security agreements between countries are the instrument used to try to guarantee workers’ benefits. Spain, a transmitter and receiver of emigrants, is one of the countries in the world with the most bilateral agreements of this type, specifically with 25 countries: Andorra, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Cape Verde, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Republic of Korea, Ecuador, United States, Philippines, Japan, Morocco, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, Dominican Republic, Russia, Senegal, Tunisia, Ukraine, Uruguay and Venezuela.
