Public Sector Expertise and the International Cooperation of Member States join forces in Brussels to strengthen collaboration between institutions worldwide

• Representatives of Foreign Affairs/International Cooperation and Public Service of EU Member States participated in the meeting sponsored in Brussels by the European Commission - Directorate-General for International Partnerships (DG INTPA) and the Spanish Presidency of the EU to promote public technical cooperation (related to policies, laws, and institutions) as the flagship of the cooperation and foreign action of the EU and its Member States.

• In addition to creating enabling environments for green and digital investments in the Global Gateway [the European global connectivity strategy], public technical cooperation can lay the foundation for the necessary public policies for this global change and strengthen the institutions responsible for maintaining it over time and within the reach of all people and territories.

• The meeting highlighted the legislative, administrative, and financial measures that Member States and the European Commission must address in the coming months to continue advancing in public technical cooperation. 

The Spanish Presidency of the European Union and DG INTPA organised an event in Brussels on Thursday, October 19, to unite efforts in promoting European public technical cooperation. During the meeting, there was a joint reflection on how to better mobilise the public talent of European administrations in an ever-changing context and in the face of the challenges facing the world today. 

Tobias Jung, Director of Strategy at FIIAPP, and representing the Practitioners´ Network during the seminar, stressed that "it is crucial to bring this debate to the technical level to address the challenges identified in the 'Good Practices Document' for mobilising public talent, prepared by the European Commission and presented at the event. Since 2017, we have been working with DG INTPA to promote the added value of public talent." 

The meeting was opened by Eva del Hoyo, Director-General of Sustainable Development Policies at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union, and Cooperation of Spain, showing Spain´s commitment to this form of cooperation. Del Hoyo emphasized: "The Spanish Presidency of the EU Council firmly believes in the experience of the public sector and its added value as the primary form of cooperation for the EU's foreign action." This idea was further developed in an article published in El Grand Continent, where she develops the concept of a renewed commitment, pointing out that "European cooperation can work on a dual scale, promoting cohesion among different Member States and being a tool that allows establishing strategic partnerships for the EU to become a geopolitical reference partner." 

The conversation highlighted the importance of an external action based on values, where it is essential to discuss sustainable development results, but also the return of knowledge and the strategic relevance of the work of cooperatives for our own policies, administrations, and public systems. 

The Director of FIIAPP, Anna Terrón, emphasized the importance of "integrating public talent into the implementation of the Global Gateway strategy and jointly positioning the experience of our public sector as a tool to promote shared values and structural partnerships within the EU and with our partners. At FIIAPP, we believe that this event is not an endpoint. Therefore, we commit to continuing this work together within the Practitioners´ Network for European Development Cooperation." 

The seminar facilitated technical discussions to exchange strategies and experiences in the mobilisation of specialized knowledge from the public sector.  

Good practices: EU and its Member States mobilising Public Sector Expertise in EU´s external action: prepared by the European Commission, this document identifies good practices and challenges in mobilising public talent and offers a series of recommendations to Member States to promote this type of cooperation. Implementing these recommendations, defining a new joint roadmap for promoting public talent abroad, and aligning technical cooperation with the European Global Gateway strategy are some of the pending challenges that both the European Commission and the Member States will need to jointly address in the coming years.