Observatorio de Cooperación Descentralizada | Unión Europea | America Latina

Decentralised Cooperation has been taking place in a spontaneous manner for some decades now, bringing local authorities in Europe and Latin America together in partnerships founded on assistance from one party to another or on exchanges between both parties.

In 1995, Decentralised Cooperation between the EU and Latin America was boosted by the launch of the URB-AL Programme, the purpose of which is to forge cooperative networks between local authorities on specific issues and problems related to urban development: citizens' involvement, combating poverty, the Information Society, gender and other themes dealt with in the 13 sectors that are the focus of the various thematic networks. The URB-AL Programme, run by the European Commission, has not only promoted a new form of relationship -networks- but has also stimulated debate around the issue of Decentralised Cooperation. For example, it supported the Conference on the Local Partnership between the European Union and Latin America (Valparaíso, March 2004), which highlighted the need for more information on the rising phenomenon of direct cooperation between municipalities. Following the conference, two ambitious projects were launched within the framework of the URB-AL Programme: the URB-AL Programme Documentation Centre, which is responsible for compiling all the information generated by the thematic networks; and the EU-LA Observatory for Decentralised Local Cooperation.

Now that this European stage has come to an end, Barcelona Provincial Council is standing by its commitment to maintain and boost the OCD EU-LA, guaranteeing that its most significant activities will be sustained over the next few years. Accordingly, assurances can be given regarding the production of the Yearbook, the provision of training in EU-LA Decentralise Cooperaction, the gathering and systematisation of datam and the staging of the Annual Conference - the next Conference will in fact be held in the last quarter of 2009, under the title "Valparaíso+5. Current status and outlook for local Decentralised Cooperacion".

The production of a 2009-2011 strategic plan is envisaged for the first quarter of 2009, aimed at establishing the main orientation for work over the next three years and serving to consolidate, boost an reinforce international cooperation implemented by and among local governments, turning to good account their specific features and their added value as compared with other development-cooperation agents.