The Basque Government moves forward in the preparation of a new Basque law for Development Cooperation
The Basque Cooperation for Development Board met in a working session to discuss a first preliminary draft bill. The Basque Government 2020-2024 Programme “Euskadi en Marcha” [“The Basque Country on the Move”] is committed to preparing and approving a new Basque law for development cooperation which reviews and widens the reach of the current law in accordance with the challenges we face in the global context.
The process began in January with a public consultation focussing on an analysis of the current law. Later, spaces for an exchange of opinions have been developed with diverse agents such as: Basque and Spanish public administrations, NGDOs, study and technological centres, feminist and LGTBI+ organisations, migrant associations, United Nations agencies and educational agents.
In 2007, the Basque Parliament approved the Law for Development Cooperation, which has served as a legal umbrella for Basque solidarity and cooperation in favour of social justice and development for impoverished peoples. However, the challenges faced by cooperation have changed significantly. According to Paul Ortega, director of eLankidetza-Basque Agency for Development Cooperation, “we are faced with a global context of systematic crises, interdependent and complex, which calls for new forms of cooperation.”
In addition, the new law will try to consolidate the role of decentralised cooperation, which is increasingly emerging and has the capacity for transformation. In short, “the intention is to strengthen the Basque Country’s commitment to solidarity by means of an organised and active society; to consolidate the involvement of public institutions in favour of sustainable human development, and to involve diverse agents by promoting alliances between them,” explained Ortega.
The Basque Cooperation for Development Board is an advisory body which gathers together members of the Basque Parliament, public administrations, NGDOs, people from social organisation networks, universities and technological centres. After this opinion exchange phase and the corresponding processes, the draft bill will be approved by the Governing Board and submitted to the Basque Parliament.
