EU - Argentina cooperation on regional and urban policy

In July 2016, DG REGIO and the Secretariat of Provinces of the Ministry of Interior of the Republic of Argentina exchanged letters of intent establishing a dialogue on regional and urban policy.

The dialogue builds on previous cooperation activities and takes place in the context of the EU-Argentina Framework Agreement for Trade and Economic Cooperation and the EU-Argentina Work Programme adopted by the Joint Committee on 28 September 2010. The dialogue addresses, inter alia, exchanges of information and practices on policies aiming at economic, social and territorial cohesion including:

• promotion of drivers of economic growth as regional innovation and cross-border cooperation
• on setting up and implementing regional policy, including multiannual planning methodologies and organizing territorial development strategies
• on multi-level governance and partnership issues
• on planning and evaluation procedures and methods.

Argentina is an important partner for the EU in the actions carried out to further this cooperation, namely:

• International Urban and Regional Cooperation (IURC) programme for city-to-city cooperation on sustainable urban development and region-to-region cooperation on regional innovation
• INNOV-AL project promotes the exchange of knowledge and good practices on the definition and implementation of decentralized innovation policies and smart specialization policies at the regional level and the cooperation between the national and regional authorities of six countries in Latin America (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Peru, Mexico) and between these and their counterparts in the EU.
• INNOVACT project diffusing EU regional policy experience and good practices in Latin America
• to facilitate the sharing of information and lessons between European and Latin-American cross-border regions on promoting cross-border cooperation, innovation systems, clusters and competitiveness;
• to identify and develop strategies, action plans and concrete projects or programmes for the development of cross-border value chains,
• and to stimulate and contribute to a learning process based on concrete examples and best practices.
• Seven Latin Americas border areas were covered by INNOVACT, including Argentina-Brazil border area
• Cooperation on multi-level governance systems, institution and capacity building on regional policy programming and implementation for Argentinian national and provincial authorities