2012-11-01
2011-11-01_4_convocatoria_dos_dialogos_setoriais_brasil_ue_apoia_25_acoes_em_2011
The fourth call for proposals of the EU-Brazil Sector Dialogues Support Facility held in 2011 approved 26 actions, which were formalised and became entitled to funding. Total investments will reach R$ 2.4 million (around one million euros). Actions in the following nine Sector Dialogues were benefited: Science and Technology, Sustainable Development and Climate Change, Human Rights, Public Sector Governance, Cultural Policies, Regional Integration Policy, Industrial and Regulatory Affairs, Civil Societies and Air Transport.
Brazil and the European Union (EU) have maintained an institutional partnership whose central pillar has been the fostering of dialogues on strategic issues of mutual interest. In this context, the Ministry of Planning, Budget and Management (MP) - via the National Project Directorate (NPD) - and the European Union Delegation in Brazil (Delbra) coordinate the EU-Brazil Sector Dialogues Support Facility, which supports technical expertise exchange actions carried out by ministries and agencies of the Brazilian federal government and their corresponding directorate-generals in the EU.
The Sector Dialogues are a new form of cooperation dynamics between the European Union (EU) and emerging countries including Brazil. Currently, around 20 Sector Dialogues on a range of themes are under way involving federal government ministries and agencies and discussing issues that are extremely important for both sides in a reciprocal and complementary manner," explains National Project Director, Samuel Antunes Antero.
Priority themes for Brazil and the EU
One of the most advanced sector dialogues is that on Regional Integration Policy. Brazils National Policy for Regional Development is inspired in the European experience, which makes use of territorial reference to sub-regions and well-defined cut-off indicators to act in the territory.
In 2011, the aforementioned dialogue, which is conducted by the Ministry of National Integration, had eight of its actions supported. One of them relates to a study and an event on cooperation between clusters (company networks). "The creation of business networks within similar or complementary fields of action is not yet consolidated in Brazil, although in many cases it has proven to be an efficient means to greater productivity and to the expansion of the business itself, especially for smaller companies. It is an area that we have a lot of room to grow in," says Antero.
Sustainable Development and Climate Change is another topic considered to be a priority for Brazil and the European Union. In 2011, funding was provided to four actions related to this dialogue, coordinated by the Ministry of the Environment, Water Resources and Legal Amazon (MMA). One of the most important actions provides for a comparative study of Brazilian and European payment policies for ecosystem services, which are the direct or indirect benefits that people reap from ecosystems, such as food production and climate regulation, among others.
"Payment for environmental services is an attractive alternative for a country like Brazil -- which has one of the greatest biodiversities in the world -- both in terms of environmental management and sustainable development," says Antero. Besides the study there are also plans for an international mission to see the European experience up close and hold a roundtable in Brazil to discuss the issue.
The dialogue on Public Sector Governance, coordinated by the MP, is another one in an advanced stage of development. One of the actions supported in this area deals with social participation in the design, implementation and evaluation processes of public policies. "The Ministry of Planning and the General Secretariat of the Presidency seek to advance the process of choosing social representatives and social participation mechanisms in existing public policies, and the European Union has several successful practices in this regard," says Antero. This action provides for a study and technical consultancy to enable the modeling and implementation of a workshop to train policy-makers and civil society representatives, as well as a technical mission to learn about the European social participation experience.
Figures involved
By 2015, around 7.15 million euros will have been invested in this project, which supports expertise exchanges conducted by ministries and agencies of the Brazilian federal government and their corresponding directorate-generals in the EU. In the first phase of the project from November 2008 to May 2011 two million euros were invested to support 37 actions, involving 27 events, 12 exchange missions and about 1,300 effective working days from Brazilian and European consultants. Fourteen Brazilian public administration bodies and their counterparts in the European Union were involved.
23/10/2020
Study addresses regulatory and governance challenges to decarbonize and digitalise the energy sector
16/10/2020
Joint press release - 8th EU-Brazil High Level Political Dialogue on the Environment Dimension of Sustainable Development on 16 October 2020 (virtual meeting)
03/08/2020
Webinar discusses the importance of data protection in the COVID-19 pandemic
22/05/2020
European Union and Brazil decide to cooperate in projects to fight COVID-19
Founded UE. © Diálogos