The Commissioner for International Associations of the European Commission, JuttaUrpilainen, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Worship, Arnoldo André Tinoco, presented on June 1st, the Multiannual Indicative Plan 2021-2027, an instrument of bilateral cooperation between the European Union (EU) and Costa Rica for an amount of €14 million.
Priority areas
The priority areas of this cooperation are decarbonization, including electric transport, renewable energy and green bonds; digitization and innovation; and support on issues of people in human mobility, such as refugees and migration. These resources will come to complement the cooperation coming from initiatives of regional scope of the EU. “The EU wants to deepen its cooperation with Costa Rica and with the region to respond to common challenges and promote a just green and digital transition. For this we are preparing an investment agenda called Global Gateway”, said the commissioner. The objective is to present the agenda during the next EU-CELAC summit.
Foreign Minister André commented that this plan shows the “evolution of bilateral cooperation ties between Costa Rica and the EU, where the establishment of the bilateral fund is testimony of the transformation towards more horizontal alliances, which will allow the development of joint activities, under the premise of shared interests with differentiated capacities and oriented to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals”.
Relevant issues
“We are hopeful that the topics proposed by Costa Rica regarding the Multiannual Indicative Program for International Cooperation of the European Union in Costa Rica for the period 2021 – 2027, such as Digitalization and innovation, Sustainable production, Marine-coastal ecosystems and Economy circular, are considered relevant by the European Union”, highlighted the Vice Minister of National Planning and Economic Policy, Marlon Navarro Álvarez.
The vice minister added that “Costa Rica focuses its hope on being considered as a recipient of Humanitarian Aid to be able to face the various migratory crises that the country has been facing for several years and that exert strong pressure on our social services in health, education and that put our approach to safe, orderly and regular migration management to the test”.
