Studia Historica: Historia Contemporánea (Jun 2017)
Spanish development cooperation in the EU
Abstract
In this article the author introduces in historical perspective his experience as former high civil servant of the European Commission in topics related to the Development Cooperation of the European Union. The author had previously worked in such topics both as scholar and practitioner in the University of Barcelona and in public and private institutions in Catalonia, Spain and international organisations. He deals in particular with the contribution made by Spanish civil servants to the creation of a new perspective on development cooperation as an interactive process between societies and not exclusively between states. The article concludes on the transformation and expansion of eu development cooperation from the promotion of social model of development to another more strictly based on economic values which also changed from inter-governmental to a more integrated supranational policy. The article also elaborates on the direct impact of European integration on the institutionalisation of Spanish Development Cooperation, as a clear example of a direct influence of participation of the country to European integration.
