On April 10th, the Italian Parliamentary Intergroup for Development Cooperation was formed and gathered for its first assignment meeting. The Intergroup will be a tool for a joint work amongst members of different groups who want to engage, together with NGOs, to finally make International Cooperation an integral part of Italian foreign policy.
The first objectives will be linked on one hand to the global agenda – that goes on regardless of Italian currently difficult political and institutional situation, on the other hand to the need to launch a series of measures to meet the new Italian international requests, such as the reform of the law on cooperation and a public resources realignment plan. These steps are necessary to reverse the drastic cuts over the past few years and fully respect the international commitments already made.
The Intergroup, which has already gathered a very large consensus with the participation of more than 70 members of different parliamentary groups, had a first informal meeting with NGOs representatives, to start discussing on the agenda.
As of now, the Intergroup expresses an appreciation for the recommendations in the field of development cooperation contained in the DEF approved on April 10th, 2013 by the Council of Ministers, which acknowledges the request for years supported by NGOs and the Parliament to have a clear timetable for the realignment of Italian ODA (official development assistance), and with a progressive and significant increase in the resources planned for 2014-2017. The practical implementation in the next government’s decisions will be crucial.
Just as it is important to ensure that during 2013 all the funds allocated for the current year – with difficulty, often after lengthy parliamentary battles – will actually be used.
Federica Mogherini, deputy PD, will coordinate the Intergroup.