The Diplomat
Last Monday, the Council of Ministers approved the referral to the Spanish Parliament of the Framework Agreement for the Promotion of the Circulation of Talent in the Ibero-American Space, at the same time that it authorized Spain’s consent to be bound by it.
The agreement, whose referral to Parliament coincides with the dissolution of the two Chambers due to the early general elections (approved in the same extraordinary Council of Ministers), was signed on April 21, 2021 in Soldeu (Andorra), coinciding with the celebration of the XXVII Ibero-American Summit, by the then Minister of Foreign Affairs, Arancha González Laya, and her counterparts from Guatemala, Portugal and the Dominican Republic, in person, and from Brazil, Colombia and Nicaragua, by telematic means. El Salvador joined the signing five days later.
The agreement is a binding document intended to create a legal framework to facilitate mobility and knowledge transfer, promote “innovation and harness creative, scientific and technological capabilities”, foster “economic growth and sustainable development” and encourage the temporary movement of researchers, entrepreneurs, scientists, professionals and higher education students on internships.
The provisions of these agreements are compatible with the right of each State party to establish quotas or volumes of admission of foreigners. According to the Government, the agreement will not imply any new budgetary obligations for Spain. The Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration will be the liaison body for the Agreement.
The creation of a framework agreement on this matter was included, at Spain’s initiative, in the Declaration of the XXIV Ibero-American Summit, held in 2014 in Veracruz (Mexico) and in which the Ibero-American leaders urged the Ibero-American General Secretariat (SEGIB) to study its feasibility.
At the XXVI Ibero-American Summit, held in 2018 in La Antigua (Guatemala), the Ibero-American countries took note of the Framework Agreement proposal and instructed the SEGIB to convene a specific meeting of the competent authorities to advance in the negotiation of the said framework agreement. Finally, at the Andorra Summit, a final text adapted to the needs of the COVID-19 pandemic was presented for signature.
