FINANCIACION INTERNACIONAL:

REPORT OF THE OECD Mamen Pallares

1º Comercio Internacional

Organisation for Economic Co-operation

and Development

1. WHAT IS THE OECD:

OECD is the acronym for the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and
Development and its purpose is to achieve co-ordination of the principal policies
of the Member States in the field of economic and social affairs.

Our objective is to promote policies that favour prosperity, equality,

opportunities and well-being for all people.

This institution, which was created in 1960, is also known as the OECD, since
its name in English is the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and
Development. English and French are the official languages of the OECD, which
has its headquarters in Paris.

The OECD is often referred to as an organization of rich nations, since its

members generate nearly 80% of the world's Gross National Product. The
countries that make up the OECD work together through some two hundred
committees and groups of specialists in the most diverse areas.

In collaboration with governments, policy makers and citizens, we work to set

international standards and propose evidence-based solutions to diverse social,
economic and environmental challenges. The OECD is a unique forum, a
knowledge centre for data collection and analysis, exchange of experience and

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good practice. We advise on public policy and on setting global standards and
norms in areas ranging from improving economic performance and job creation
to promoting effective education or combating international tax evasion.

2. MEMBER COUNTRIES

Our 36 member countries currently span the globe, from North and South
America to Europe and Asia-Pacific. The countries are represented by
ambassadors, who sit on the OECD Council, the body that monitors our work and
makes recommendations on it, in accordance with the OECD Convention. The
ambassadors work with our experts and with other countries' delegations,
transmitting our data and analysis and playing a key role in our country reports.
The European Commission participates in our work, although it has no voting
rights and cannot formally take part in the adoption of rules submitted to the
Council.

To become a member, countries can either apply or be invited by the OECD

Council to start an accession process. An accession roadmap is then established
which sets out the modalities, conditions and process to be followed. A technical
review is conducted to assess the country's policies and practices against OECD
best practices. The country's capacity to implement OECD standards is also
assessed. This phase usually results in a series of measures that the country must
implement in order to meet OECD membership requirements. Each country must
ratify OECD membership to become an effective member.

3. WHAT DO THEY DO?

The OECD's work therefore focuses on the analysis of Economic and Social
Development, as well as of all sectoral policies that influence it. Its scope of
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activity therefore covers not only the study and monitoring of the economic
situation and the economic policies applied in the various countries, but also
social, environmental, energy, education, health economics, industrial and service
activities, trade, development aid, etc.

From a practical point of view, the work carried out by the OECD takes the
form of reports and recommendations that are useful for the public
administrations and governments of the Member States, as well as for a large
number of non-member States that follow the work of this institution with
interest.

4. FUNCTIONS AND STRUCTURE (DIRECTIONS AND DEPARTMENTS)

SECRETARY GENERAL

The Secretary-General chairs the Council, establishing the link between the
national delegations and the Secretariat and is assisted by one or more Deputy
Secretaries-General. The Secretariat is composed of some 2,500 members who
support the activities of the committees and carry out the work in response to
priorities decided by the OECD Council. The staff includes economists, lawyers,
scientists and other professionals. Most staff members are based in Paris, but
some work in OECD centres in other countries.

The General Secretariat is structured in different thematic directorates, in

addition to horizontal ones such as Communication, Executive Directorate and
Legal Affairs among others.

COUNCIL

It is the supreme body of the OECD, with decision-making power and from
which all its acts emanate. The decision-making mechanism is set out in Articles 5

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and 6 of the OECD Convention. It is composed of the Ambassadors of the member
countries, plus a representative of the European Commission.

The Council meets regularly at the level of permanent representatives to the

OECD and decisions are taken by consensus. These meetings are chaired by the
Secretary-General of OECD. The Council also meets at ministerial level once a year
to discuss key issues and set priorities for the work of the OECD. This meeting,
MCM, which takes place in May, is chaired by a member country each year. The
work mandated by the Council is carried out by the OECD Secretariat.

COMMITTEES

Representatives of the 37 OECD countries meet in specialized committees to

present ideas and review progress in specific policy areas.

There are approximately 250 committees, working groups and expert groups.
Some 40,000 senior officials from national administrations attend OECD
committee meetings each year to request, review and contribute to the work
done by the OECD Secretariat. Members in turn have access to documents online
and an intranet is available for the exchange of information.

The Organization carries out its work through three types of actions:

 The production of analyses and studies on the public policies of member

countries, based on comparable data (thanks to its work on statistical
harmonization) to be contrasted from a multidisciplinary approach. On the
basis of these analyses, best practices are identified and new international
standards are set.

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 To a lesser extent, also through its standard-setting activity: the OECD can
establish binding commitments for member States in certain areas through
the adoption of Conventions. It also adopts Guidelines, Recommendations
or Declarations that are not binding but that integrate a whole range of
good practices and standards that are a very important reference point for
member countries and for those that want to access them.
 Peer Reviews or external audit type reports, which are specific to the OECD,
on public policies of the Member States such as the economy, energy
policy, competition policy, development aid, education, taxation, etc. The
periodicity of the Reviews varies according to the subject matter.

5. OECD OBJECTIVES

It is also worth mentioning that the OECD is constantly open to receiving new
member countries, as well as to maintaining a relationship of close cooperation
with non-members, some of which participate through regular or full observation
in its committees.

Among the objectives of the OECD are the following:

 To help expand the economies of member countries, as well as non-

members, in a healthy manner.
 To ensure that world trade expands in accordance with international
obligations, on a multilateral and non-discriminatory basis
 To contribute to the development of the world economy by maintaining
financial stability and by expanding the economic and employment levels as
much as possible, so that the standard of living of the member countries
can progress continuously.

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6. FINANCING

The funding of the OECD is set out in the Organisation's Work Programmes
and Budget, which are drawn up for two-year periods and consist of two parts
together with the annexed budgets.
Part I covers the structural costs and the main activities of the Organization in
all areas, and is financed by mandatory contributions from each State.
Part II contains programmes in which not all Member States necessarily
participate and in which non-member countries may also be involved. It is of a
very varied nature. Each programme in Part II has its own management body,
responsible for approving the annual budget and the contributions that each
country must make to finance it.
The Annexed Investment, Pension and Publications Budgets complete the
OECD budget and are financed by mandatory contributions from Member
Countries.
The independent external audit of the Organization's accounts and financial
management is carried out by a Supreme Audit Institution of an OECD member
country, appointed by the Council.

7. OECD VALUES

The OECD works towards these goals, among others, and relies on a set of
values that it considers to be unbreakable:

 Objectivity: it relies on evidence to carry out its analyses and to make any
recommendations, avoiding any kind of influence that could interfere with
its work and cause favouritism.

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 Openness: they are concerned with keeping up to date with issues of
interest to the world and accept all possibilities for debate, taking into
account all possible positions on each subject before reaching a conclusion.
 Audacity: conventional knowledge is the first thing they try to challenge,
starting with the ideas that their own members have, always in search of
new concepts and points of view that help make better decisions in pursuit
of progress.
 Avant-garde: they try to identify and deal with long-term challenges, even
before they seem relevant, thus anticipating certain situations that, with
another type of organization, could be problematic if they were not warned
in time.
 Ethics: they are confident in maintaining their credibility through their
work, always seeking to build trust with transparent and honest
management.

8. REGIONAL INITIATIVES

We work with many countries in different regions, mainly through regional

initiatives, covering Africa, Eurasia, the Middle East and North Africa, Latin
America and the Caribbean, South East Asia and South East Europe. These
regional initiatives facilitate the comparison of public policies and the exchange of
best practices between countries in a particular geographical area, both within
their region and in relation to others. They also help guide countries towards
recognised international standards and ambitious reform programmes, with the
aim of creating the conditions for greater prosperity and well-being of citizens not
only at national level, but also locally and in cities. Depending on the different

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types of collaboration, countries and economies can also be invited to participate
in global committees and forums.

9. SPAIN AND THE OCDE

Spain joined the European Organization for Economic Cooperation (ECO) as a

full member in 1959. The organization's reports contributed to the
implementation of the Stabilization Plan of that same year, with which Spain
began to open up the country's economy to liberalization. Subsequently, together
with 19 other countries, Spain signed the Convention establishing the
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) on 14
December 1960. Since then, Spain has been committed to achieving the
fundamental objectives of the Organization.