Projects

Strategies and development programmes,Expertise and research work,

Identification mission for projects concerning promotion of social and economic cohesion in the Andean Community

Peru

EC Delegation in Peru

The Andean Community (CAN)

Promotion of balanced and harmonious development in the member countries through social and economic cooperation as well as acceleration of growth and employment generation is mentioned in the article 1 of the Agreement of Cartagena which establishes the objectives of Andean integration. The realisation of these objectives will contribute to persistent improvement of the quality of life of subregion’s inhabitants. Despite some difficulties connected with global economic crisis in the 80., Andean countries managed to establish supranational institutional system, Andean System of Integration, which constitutes of diverse bodies and has rich legislation binding for each of the member countries. The intensification of trade between Andean countries grew by 13,1% annually between 1990 and 2005 which contributed to overcoming the economic crisis more easily. These benefits should influence the social situation in Andean countries where more than half of population, i.e. around 60 million of inhabitants live below the poverty line. The social protection services directed at the poorest and most vulnerable groups are dramatically insufficient. The development and social inclusion aiming at greater social, economic and territorial cohesion in the Andean Community is one of the high-priority axes established in 2004. The current project is compliant with the Integrated Plan of Social Development (IPSD) and the Andean Strategy of Territorial Development (ASTD) whose components are complementary and are to be understood as a comprehensive strategy of social and economic cohesion for the Andean subregion. The IPSD which constitutes the Social Agenda of Andean Community proposes three interrelated areas of work: horizontal technical cooperation in social policies; convergence of objectives and social aims; and communitarian social projects. The Andean Council of Ministers of Social Development established in each member country the IPSD National Committees responsible for the detailed development of the projects. On the other hand, the ASTD promotes a joint model of Andean development, including a strategy of territorial development. This resulted in a number of consultations with the local, regional and national actors directed at the design of an Andean strategy of territorial development which will contribute to the balanced and harmonious development of the Andean region, the environmental sustainability and territorial cohesion. In May 2002 the European Commission approved the first regional strategy for the CAN for the period 2002-2006. This strategy raised two primary targets: to support Andean integration and to endorse the objective of a ”Andean zone of peace”. The strategy makes reference to the set of instruments of EU support, i.e. political dialogue with the CAN, specific trade regime to support Andean import into EU market and the programmed activities of cooperation. Such strategies were also elaborated in the Andean countries setting the bilateral relations among them and the European Union. The regional strategy for the period 2007-2013 which is currently in final phase of approval, concerns the regional integration, i.e. the cooperation and the intense collaboration between the five countries of the CAN in diverse areas. In order to promote this integration, three high-priority sectors have been selected: (i) social and economic cohesion; (ii) regional economic integration; (iii) fight against illicit drugs. The general objective of the project is to contribute to the improvement of the economic and social cohesion of the Andean Community. Specific objectives of the project are: • To stimulate the development of the Andean social policy, developing an integral approach in the area of social and economic cohesion, including reduction of the poverty, social inclusion and equality as well as employment generation; • To promote transnational and transnational and crossborder projects for the improvement of the social, economic cohesion and territorial development, stimulating therefore the crossborder and transnational cooperation and contacts in these sectors between the countries of the Andean Community. The mission will establish the bases for the design, content and geographic scope of the proposed new projects which will be executed and the institutional actors who will participate in them. It will define the basic issues at the programming level, execution and control as well as the administrative and financial rules for the implementation, methodology of intervention and the cost of a project.

Start date: 2006-11-01

End date: 2006-12-31