Development Co-operation Reviews: Spain 1998

         The Development Assistance Committee's 1998 review of Spain's development aid programmes and policies. It finds that The Spanish Government is making significant efforts to consolidate the political framework for development co-operation and improve the quality and transparency of its aid.          A draft law on development co-operation was submitted to Parliament in the autumn of 1997 and new planning and evaluation systems for aid management are being introduced, including a multi-year indicative plan and country programmes. Despite severe budgetary constraints, an increase in the aid budget is also envisaged. These initiatives were well received by the OECD's Development Assistance Committee (DAC) during the review of Spain's aid policies and programmes. The Committee also took note of the major improvement in the balance of the Spanish aid effort with a significant increase in the grant aid programme, accompanied by a decline in the tied Development Aid Fund (FAD) loan component, and expressed the hope that this trend would continue. The DAC encouraged the Spanish authorities to pursue their efforts to ensure greater consistency of the FAD loans with the overall development objectives and policy directions for Spanish aid.          In relation to general good practice among donors, the Committee indicated its support for the measures to enhance the effectiveness of the Spanish aid programme and its capacity to implement and suggested that the Spanish authorities consider a number of further initiatives      