Government pushes through its Law on Cooperation for Sustainable Development and Global Solidarity

The new regulatory framework is the most important legislative bill of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in this legislature. This law, promoted by the minister, José Manuel Albares, responds to demands from the sector and aspires to become a benchmark of a new model of cooperation, committed to the 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals, and to the Paris Agreement against climate change. The new law will ensure development aid focuses on global public goods, such as global health and food crises, and promotes alliances between parties.

The new Law on Cooperation for Sustainable Development and Global Solidarity gives legal status to the commitment taken on by Spain to allocate 0.7% of Gross National Income to Official Development Assistance by 2030. The aim is to recover the ground lost over 10 years of declines in the financial allocation to development aid and to consolidate the path taken in 2018. At that time, this heading was allocated 0.18% of Spain’s Gross National Income. By 2023, we have raised this to 0.34%. The new law also provides for the obligation to allocate at least 10% of Official Development Assistance to humanitarian action.

According to the Minister for Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, José Manuel Albares, “this law updates Spanish cooperation from the previous law, which dates back 25 years and places our country at the forefront and makes it a benchmark with a new model of cooperation”. “Furthermore”, continued the minister behind this law, “we give legal status to the commitment taken on by Spain to allocate 0.7% of Gross National Income to Official Development Assistance by 2030 – an historical claim from Spanish society”.

During the drafting of the legal text, more than 130 contributions were received from different stakeholders and groups. 97% of them have been included in its articles, and furthermore, during its passage through Parliament, amendments have been included from different political groups. The new Law on Sustainable Development and Global Solidarity aspires to turn cooperation into a robust State policy that is lasting and safe from being reversed.

Greater protection for aid workers

This law will serve as a framework for the drafting of four Royal Decrees that will implement its content. These provisions will be given over to the reform of AECID, the Subsidies Act, financial cooperation and a new Statute on Aid Workers.

The Statute on Aid Workers seeks to recognise the fundamental role of cooperation workers. Improvements will be introduced in their working conditions and the foundations will be laid for a professional career to ensure talent is attracted, retained, trained and promoted.

The reform of the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID) seeks to reinforce this body as the cornerstone of the system and a generator of partnerships.

As regards the reform of financial cooperation, the aim is to make it quicker, more effective and in line with the models of our main European partners and other multilateral bodies.

And lastly, the reform of the legislation on subsidies in relation to decentralised cooperation increases the transparency of Spanish Cooperation, since it will provide it with new instruments to improve evaluation, monitoring and accountability, bringing cooperation work closer to the public.

Alliances and decentralised cooperation 

The new law strengthens the governance of the system of Spanish Cooperation, with improvements in the instruments for coordination, agreement and colla​boration between stakeholders. In particular, it is committed to the role of decentralised cooperation, one of the hallmarks and strengths of Spanish Cooperation. On the one hand, action by the autonomous regions will be implemented according to their respective statutes of autonomy and regional laws. On the other hand, it provides the autonomous regions with access to take part in delegated cooperation programmes of the EU in the terms established by EU Law and in consensus with the State and other multilateral bodies.