Eduardo González
The Secretary of State for Foreign and Global Affairs is going to grant a maximum amount of 800,000 euros to subsidize private non-profit entities involved in the study, analysis and implementation of Spanish foreign policy priorities.
The resolution, signed last March 30 by the State Secretary for Foreign and Global Affairs, Ángeles Moreno Bau, and published last Friday in the Official State Gazette (BOE), establishes that the maximum amount of these grants is 800,000 euros “distributed among all applicants who are beneficiaries”. Therefore, the amount of 625,000 that appeared in the previous year’s call is increased by 28% and the amount offered in 2021 is recovered.
The purpose of these grants is to promote the study, development of thought and analysis of Spanish, European and other States’ and international organizations’ foreign policy, as well as the performance of civil society’s own activities in the execution of the priority lines of Spanish foreign policy. The beneficiaries may be private non-profit entities that have Spanish nationality or have been incorporated under Spanish law or that, having been incorporated under the law of a third State, have established their headquarters in Spain and have recognized legal capacity under Spanish law. Likewise, these entities must have among their statutory purposes the development of activities related to Spanish foreign policy.
In accordance with the priorities of Spanish foreign policy, preference will be given to projects that have an impact on areas such as security and defense (challenges and prospects for Spain, European security, NATO and international security), the Mediterranean and the Arab world, China and the Indo-Pacific, the European Union (especially the upcoming Spanish Presidency of the Council of the EU) and Africa (its challenges and prospects in the Maghreb, Sahel and sub-Saharan Africa).
Activities on human rights, rule of law and promotion of democracy, gender equality and feminist foreign policy; the challenges of multilateralism in the current international context, the reputation and image of Spain, Spanish foreign policy in the Ibero-American and Caribbean region, the world economic outlook (energy challenges, raw materials markets, global supply flows, the digital economy and economic warfare as a new instrument of international pressure) and cybersecurity, hybrid threats and the fight against disinformation will also be assessed.
In the 2022 call for proposals, the highest grant (39,600) corresponded to the Elcano Royal Institute for the Commemorative Book 40 years of Spain in NATO. The Protagonists Speak. Besides, this think tank was also the most benefited both in the amount and the amount of the grants, with a total of 163,000 euros for five projects, among which stand out, in addition to the one already mentioned, the 38,300 euros for the Paper Publications (and in Digital Version) on Different Dimensions of Spanish Foreign Policy, the 30,600 euros for the Barometer of the Elcano Royal Institute (BRIE) and the 33,300 euros for the Elcano Global Presence Index.
The second highest individual grant (just over 39,200 euros) went to the European Council on Foreign Relations Association for the project Spain in Post-Ukrainian War Europe: How to Contribute to a More Cohesive, Integrated and Strategically Autonomous EU?
The second most benefited think tank was the Toledo International Center for Peace Foundation, with almost 105,650 euros for five projects. It was followed by the Barcelona Centre for International Affairs (CIDOB), which received more than 94,500 euros for four projects, including the third highest (39,031 euros): Foreign Policy Dialogues: Security, European Construction, Latin America, Mediterranean and Disinformation. The Alternativas Foundation (which was the most benefited think tank in 2021 with 120,125 euros for four projects) obtained in 2022 a total of 70,095 euros for three projects.
