EURO-LATIN AMERICAN PARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLY. Committee on Social Affairs, Youth and Children, Human Exchanges, Education and Culture.

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1 Euro-Latin American Parliamentary Assembly Assemblée Parlementaire Euro-Latino Américaine Asamblea Parlamentaria Euro-Latinoamericana Assembleia Parlamentar Euro-Latino-Americana Parlamentarische Versammlung Europa-Lateinamerika EURO-LATIN AMERICAN PARLIAMTARY ASSEMBLY Committee on Social Affairs, Youth and Children, Human Exchanges, Education and Culture Minutes of meeting of 28 March 2014, from to Athens, Greece Ministry of Foreign Affairs Meeting room: Auditorium The meeting opened on Friday 28 March 2014 at 14.30, with Co-chair Edite Estrela (EP), in the chair. 1. Adoption of draft agenda AP v01-00 The draft agenda was adopted in the form shown in these minutes. 2. Exchange of views with Yiannis Vroutsis Minister of Labour, Social Security and Welfare of Greece, on the priorities of the Greek Presidency of the EU Owing to prior commitments, the Minister was unable to attend the meeting, so the debate was postponed. 3. Election of Members to the Committee Bureau As all the Members of the Bureau had already been elected, this point was annulled. 4. Approval of minutes of the meeting of 17 July 2013 in Vilnius, Lithuania AP v01-00 The minutes of the meeting held on 17 July 2013 in Vilnius (Lithuania) were PV\ doc APAP v01-00 United in diversity

2 approved 4. Chair s announcements 5. Working document on Combating poverty as part of goals for sustainable development beyond 2015 EP co-rapporteur: Edite Estrela (S&D, PT) LAC Co-rapporteur: (to be confirmed) The European co-rapporteur, Edite Estrela, presented her working document. Speakers: María José Carrión, Sandra Noriega, Marvin Crespo, Helmut Scholz, Doreen Ibarra, E. Pérez 6. Exchange of views on the Regional Programme for social cohesion in Latin America EUROsociAL, with Inmaculada Zamora, EUROsociAL programme Director Ms Zamora opened her presentation with a broad outline of the EUROsociAL programme, which aims to contribute to the design and implementation of public policies in LAC countries to improve social cohesion. The programme had a fouryear mandate ( ) and a budget of EUR 40 million. In operational terms, the programme put participating institutions in touch with comparable experiences, knowledge and similar institutions in Europe and Latin America, which could introduce innovation. At regional level, the programme was tackling challenges common to various countries and sought to encourage changes in national policies, according to the context of each country. The programme covered four main fields: justice and security; democratic governance; social policies; and public finance. It addressed 14 themed areas (access to justice, gender-based violence, alternative mechanisms of social cohesion, reinsertion of ex-offenders; prevention of violence, transparency and combating corruption, social dialogue, regional development, inclusive and sustainable tax systems, education, health, social protection, employment, SNCP). Over the years, the programme had achieved a number of tangible results, such as the creation of the national network of employment centres in Colombia, the launch of a television series on tax education in Chile, social programmes in Guatemala and the No Cuelgues campaign in Argentina. 7. Current topic: The inter-linkage between democracy and development within the context of the post 2015 framework with Andrew Bradley, Director, International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA) Mr Bradley began by recalling that all the world s peoples aspired to democracy, in which citizens controlled their governments. The current situation was characterised by power shifts at the global level, increasing citizen mobility and the advent of innovative democratic practices, often rooted in new technologies. This context made APAP v /5 PV\ doc

3 it necessary to adopt a holistic approach to supporting democracy in conflict avoidance situations. The biggest threats to democracy included corruption, organised crime, autocratic regimes, gender and socioeconomic inequality, mass migration with an impact on national identity and loss of trust in public institutions. Democracy, with its state and non-state players, and development were two mutuallysupporting processes. Looking ahead to the post-2015 debate, it was clear that the greatest challenge would be to develop a strategy based on a list of quantifiable and numerically restricted objectives Although there was no consensus regarding the inclusion of democracy as one of the post-2015 objectives, certain components of democracy, such as the state of law, respect for human rights, transparency and good governance were recognised as being important. In light of this, Mr Bradley stressed the importance of democracy to the post-2015 agenda, since the construction of democratic political institutions was a prerequisite for achieving sustainable development, inclusion and equality. 8. Proposals for reports and topics to be discussed by the committee at its next meeting in 2014 As proposed by the Latin American component at the committee meeting of July 2013 held in Vilnius, the next topic for discussion would be Communication and access to information in the EU and Latin America. 9. Other business Lilia Vargas Céspedes, Councillor for the municipality of Andahuaylas (Peru), presented the document entitled: Women s participation in politics and gender inequality in Andahuaylas, Apurímac. 10. Date and place of next meeting The next meeting would take place during the second half of 2014 in Panama (date to be confirmed). The meeting closed at ooooooooo PV\ doc 3/5 APAP v01-00

4 LISTA DE ASISTCIA / RECORD OF ATTDANCE / LISTE DE PRÉSCE / LISTA DE PRESÇAS Miembros EuroLat / EuroLat Members / Membres EuroLat / Membros EuroLat PARLATINO: María José Carrión PARLANDINO: PARLAC: PARLASUR: CPM UE-MEXICO: Sandra Noriega, Marvin Crespo Doreen Ibarra E. Pérez CPM UE-CHILE: PARLAMTO EUROPEO: Edite Estrela (Copresidenta), Santiago Fisas Ayxelà, Helmut Scholz Por invitación de los Copresidentes / At the invitation of the Co-Chairs / Sur l'invitation des co-présidents / A convite dos Co-Presidentes Inmaculada Zamora, directora del programa EUROsociAL, Florian Lütticken (European Commission), Giuseppe Iuliano (Comité Económico y Social), Andrew Bradley Director del Instituto Internacional para la Democracia y la Asistencia Electoral (IDEA) Secretaría de los Parlamentos Latinoamericanos / Latin-American Parliaments Secretariat Parlatino Parlandino Parlacen Parlasur Congreso México Senado Chile Secretariado del Parlamento Europeo / European Parliament Secretariat Co-Secretariado EuroLat Radka Hejtmankova DG Políticas Externas APAP v /5 PV\ doc

5 Asistente Anneli König, Joanna Karolczyk Secretaría de los Grupos Políticos del PE / EP Political Groups Secretariat PPE S&D Analia Glogowski Silvia González del Pino ALDE Verdes/ALE ECR GUE/NGL EFD NI Otros participantes / Other participants Parlamento Europeo Comisión Europea CESE EESC Cuerpo Diplomático Otros PV\ doc 5/5 APAP v01-00