The EU strengthens regional cooperation with Latin America
On 19 December the European Union has announced its regional cooperation package for Latin America in 2014-2020 the period, known as the Multiannual Indicative Programme (MIP), with an allocation of €925 million over seven years. The announcement was made at the occasion of a meeting with the Ambassadors of the Latin American countries in Brussels.
High Representative/Vice-President Federica Mogherini highlighted that: "The new regional cooperation programme is a fundamental instrument for strengthening the strategic partnership between Latin America and the European Union in the coming years. With an increased budget, this programme is a tangible sign of the importance of relations between the two regions, and of the commitment to continue addressing jointly some of the most crucial challenges for the wellbeing of our societies ".
Commissioner for International Cooperation and Development, Neven Mimica, said: “Latin America has made impressive progress in recent years, both economically and socially. I am confident that today’s announcement sends a clear signal that we can both look forward to fruitful ongoing cooperation over the years to come.”
The Multi-annual indicative programme includes two main components:
1. Activities at continental level
An indicative budget of €805 million, an increase of 45% compared with the 2007-2013 period (€556 million), will be dedicated to regional initiatives open to all the partner countries in Latin America[1], and will focus on a series of priority areas requiring joint cooperation efforts between both regions:
- The security-development nexus,
- Good governance, accountability and social equity,
- Inclusive and sustainable growth for human development,
- Environmental sustainability and climate change.
- Higher education[2].
2. Sub-regional programme for Central America
A second component, with an indicative allocation of € 120 million, is aimed at supporting Central America to address key development challenges at sub-regional level[3]. It will cover the following areas:
- Regional Economic Integration
- Security and the Rule of Law
- Climate change and disaster management.
What is a MIP?
Multiannual Indicative Programmes (MIPs) represent an important step in the programming of EU aid under the Development Cooperation Instrument (DCI), which is part of the EU budget.
EU Member States agreed in 2013 the overall amount for development cooperation that will be channelled to Latin America, Asia, Central Asia, the Middle-East and South Africa under the DCI during the next financing period 2014-2020 (total amount €19.6 billion).
In parallel, the preparations of a MIP for each of these countries started, defining the strategy and priorities for EU aid. These preparations are done in close cooperation with the partner countries in close consultation with other development partners (e.g. donors, civil society, private sector, etc.) so as to ensure that MIPs support national priorities where the EU has an added value.
This Multi-annual indicative programme was adopted this year by the European Commission under the EU Development Cooperation Instrument, together with bilateral cooperation programmes for Bolivia, Colombia, Cuba, El Salvador, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Paraguay and Peru (€ 1476 million in total for the bilateral programmes). The areas of cooperation were identified through a continued process of consultation with the different stakeholders, including partner countries and the civil society.
More info: http://www.eeas.europa.eu/lac/docs/index_en.htm
[1] Eligible countries for this component are: Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Chile, Costa Rica, Cuba, Colombia, El Salvador, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela.
[2] Contribution to Erasmus+ 2014-2020, the EU programme to support academic mobility and capacity building between the EU and Latin America.
[3] Eligible countries for this component are: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama.