Introduction
The OECD was established with the Convention on the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, signed in Paris on December 14, 1960, and replaced the OEEC, created in 1948 to manage the “Marshall Plan” for post- war of the European economy. The OECD aims to promote policies for: achieve higher levels of sustainable economic growth and employment in member countries, promoting investment and competitiveness and maintaining financial stability; contribute to the development of non-member countries; contribute to the expansion of world trade on a non-discriminatory basis in line with international obligations. The OECD, which is based in Paris, currently has 38 member countries (Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Japan, Greece, Ireland, Iceland, Israel , Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Mexico, Norway, New Zealand, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Czech Republic, Republic of Korea, Slovakia, United Kingdom, Slovenia, Spain, United States, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Hungary The Organization also maintains relations with numerous non-member countries, international organizations and other international institutional subjects. The OECD is mainly financed by the Member States, through the payment of compulsory contributions to the budget. These contributions are determined by a basic share, equal to 30% of the budget, divided equally among all members, and by a main share, calculated on the basis of the relative size of GNP. In 2020, the United States, with 20.6% of compulsory contributions, is the main contributing country, followed by Japan with 9.4%; Italy is sixth with 4%. Voluntary contributions from both member countries and non-members (public and non-public) are added to the mandatory contributions.
Organizational structure
The Secretary General manages the Organization and the budget and represents the Organization. He heads the Secretariat, appoints and directs the staff of the Organization. Since 1 June 2021, this position has been held by the Australian Mathias Cormann, who succeeded the Mexican Angel Gurria. The decision-making body of the OECD is the Council, from which all the acts of the Organization derive, which has the task of defining the guiding activities of the Organization, discussing and deciding on the main policy issues, adopting binding decisions and recommendations. Chaired by the Secretary General, the Council is made up of the Permanent Representatives of the Member States and of the European Commission and generally meets once a month. It is convened once a year at ministerial level and, on this occasion, is chaired by a Member State. Italy, which held the presidency in 2010 and the vice-presidency in 2009, chaired the 2022 Ministerial Council. The Council decides by consensus. In addition to the Board, the organizational structure includes: three Standing Committees: the Executive Committee (made up of the Deputy Permanent Representatives), the External Relations Committee and the Budget Committee; three Special Bodies established by the Board: Evaluation Committee, Audit Committee and Pension Budget and Reserve Fund Management Board; over 300 between Committees, i.e. first-level bodies, and second-level bodies (Working Groups, Groups of experts, task forces and forums), which depend on the Committees. The General Management, which perform all the activities in support of the Committees and subsidiary bodies.
Special Bodies of the Organization are the Center for Development, the International Energy Agency (IEA-IEA), the Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) and the International Transport Forum (FIT- ITF) for which reference is made to the appropriate sections of this site.
Special entities
There are various entities outside the OECD whose Secretariat is hosted by the Organization, which conduct activities independently and/or jointly with the OECD: the Financial Action Task Force (FATF/FATF), the Club of the Sahel and West Africa, the Partnership in Statistics for Development in the 21st Century (PARIS 21) and the Multilateral Organization Performance Assessment Network (MOPAN). Entity outside the Paris headquarters The OECD is represented abroad by four Centers located in Berlin, Mexico City, Tokyo and Washington, which focus on the visibility and impact of the work of the Organization, while Local Offices in Beijing, Moscow and Jakarta have been set up to facilitate the collaboration of the respective countries with the Organization. Other Centers outside Paris have been created for more specific objectives, for example the implementation of technical cooperation or training as is the case of the OECD LEED (Local Economic and Employment Development) Center in Trento. The OECD recognizes the valuable contribution of civil society to public life and attaches great importance to dialogue with businesses and workers. To this end, there are two advisory bodies, the BIAC (Business at OECD), which represents companies, and the TUAC (Trade Union Advisory Committee), which represents workers’ concerns.
OECD Centers
The OECD is represented abroad by four Centers located in Berlin, Mexico City, Tokyo and Washington and by Offices with a specific external relations mandate located in Beijing, Jakarta, New York, Istanbul and Kiev. As many as 17 technical cooperation and training centers operate outside the Paris headquarters, 3 of which are hosted in Italy, the only member state to have as many as three external OECD offices on its territory: OECD LEED Center (Local Economic and Employment Development) of Trento; OECD Training Center on Public Governance, at the headquarters of the School of Public Administration of Caserta; OECD Academy for the investigation of tax and financial crimes, at the Economic and Financial Police School of the Guardia di Finanza of Ostia. Please refer to the appropriate sections of this site for further information on the OECD Centers in Italy.
The member countries
On 14 December 1960, the following 20 countries signed the Convention establishing the OECD
Austria |
Luxembourg |
Belgium |
Norvway |
Canada |
The Netherlands |
Denmark |
Portugal |
France |
The United Kingdom |
Germany |
Spain |
Greece |
United States |
Ireland |
Sweden |
Icaland |
Switzerland |
Italy |
Türkye |
Since then, 18 other countries have joined the OECD
Japan (April 28, 1964)
Finland (January 28, 1969)
Australia (June 7, 1971)
New Zealand (May 29, 1973)
Mexico (May 18, 1994)
Czech Republic (December 21, 1995)
Hungary (May 7, 1996)
Poland (November 22, 1996)
South Korea (December 12, 1996)
Slovak Republic (December 14, 2000)
Chile (May 7, 2010)
Slovenia (21 July 2010)
Israel (September 7, 2010)
Estonia (December 9, 2010)
Latvia (July 1, 2016)
Lithuania (5 July 2018)
Colombia (April 28, 2020)
Costa Rica (May 25, 2021)
The enlargement process and the external relations strategy
In 2007, with the “Resolution on Enlargement and Enhanced Engagement”, the Council meeting at Ministerial level (MCM) decided to open discussions for the accession of Chile, Estonia, the Russian Federation, Israel and Slovenia. The accession procedure has been completed for Chile (May 7, 2010), Slovenia (July 21, 2010), Israel (September 7, 2010) and Estonia (December 9, 2010). As regards the Russian Federation, in March 2014 the Council, following the Ukrainian crisis, decided to postpone (“postpone for the time being”) the activities relating to the accession process. Following the Russian Federation’s aggression towards Ukraine, in March 2022 the Council suspended Russia and Belarus from attending OECD Committee meetings to which they had access (https://www.oecd.org/newsroom/statement-from -the-oecd-council-on-further-measures-in-response-to-russia-s-large-scale-aggression-against-ukraine.htm) On the occasion of the MCM of May 2011, which also celebrated the 50th anniversary of the OECD, the member countries adopted the so-called “Vision Statement”, in which the hope to continue expanding the Organization was expressed. In May 2013, the MCM decided to start accession talks with Latvia and Colombia and, in April 2015, to start accession talks with Costa Rica and Lithuania. The accession procedure has been completed for Latvia (1 July 2016), Lithuania (5 July 2018), Colombia (28 April 2020) and Costa Rica (25 May 2021). In October 2021, the OECD Ministerial Council, chaired by the United States, adopted a new “Global Relations Strategy”, which guides the work of the OECD on relations with partner countries and with other international and regional organizations. The Ministerial Declaration of 20221 entitled “Confidence in global cooperation – the OECD’s vision for the next decade” clearly indicates that enlargement is one of the tools available to the Organization to promote and disseminate its standards and maintain its influence global. The Declaration also indicates that to safeguard the essential character of the Organization, prospective members must share the values and standards of the Organization. The OECD Ministerial Council of 9 and 10 June 2022, chaired by Italy, adopted the roadmaps for Brazil, Bulgaria, Croatia, Peru and Romania to join the OECD In July 2023, Indonesia submitted its application for membership.
Key Partners
Since 2007, the Organization has aimed to strengthen cooperation with Brazil, China, India, Indonesia and South Africa, later designated as “Key Partners”, recognizing the growing importance of establishing a dialogue with a select number of countries based on their demographic and economic weight and their regional influence. Given their different situations, respective levels of engagement and the unique set of opportunities and challenges they present, the OECD continues to engage with Key Partners in a flexible manner, based on Members’ shared interests and mutual benefits. In order to strengthen collaboration with Key Partners, Informal Reflection Groups (IRGs) have also been set up within the OECD, led by a Permanent Representative.
Global Partners
While on the one hand OECD membership has increased from 24 countries in 1993 to the current 38, on the other the main dimension of the Organization’s evolution as an effective and inclusive Global Policy Network is achieved in the growing involvement of non- members in the Organization’s activities through participation in the meetings of the Committees and subsidiary bodies, adherence to legal instruments and the implementation of regional programs and country programmes. A non-member country may attend Committee meetings as an Invitee, Participant or Associate. Participation in the Global Forums, which is less restrictive than that in the Committees, has proved to be an important tool for encouraging a more intense involvement of countries outside the OECD. Regional programs include the one with Middle East and North Africa (MENA) countries launched in 2005, Eurasia (2008), South-Eastern Europe (2008), South-East Asia (2014) and LAC (Latin America and the Caribbean), launched in 2016. These programs are funded with voluntary contributions. Italy has been supporting the MENA Program for several years. The OECD has launched Country Programs with Kazakhstan, Morocco, Peru and Thailand and Ukraine.
The OECD-MENA initiative
The OECD Initiative on Governance and Competitiveness for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region concerns a strategic geographical area, a priority for Italian foreign policy. Created at the request of MENA countries in 2005, the Initiative facilitates cooperation between the OECD and the region to advance policies for sustainable and inclusive growth, bringing together MENA and OECD governments, the international community, civil society and the private sector to jointly address regional development issues and priorities, including the integration of women and young people through work and participation in public life.
The initiative consists of two programmes, one on Competitiveness (of which the EU and Tunisia are co-Chairs) and one on Governance, which Italy has co-chaired, together with Tunisia, since 2019, currently in the person of the Permanent Representative to the OECD Amb. Luca Sabbatucci.
The Governance Agenda is a strategic partnership aimed at sharing knowledge and expertise to disseminate good governance standards and principles that support the ongoing reform process in the MENA region. It has historically made use of the activities of the OECD Center in Caserta, whose mandate – initially focused exclusively on the MENA region – became global in 2022. The Competitiveness Agenda aims to contribute to the development of inclusive and sustainable competitive economies in the region, offering support for reforms to mobilize investment, develop the private sector and entrepreneurship as driving forces for inclusive growth and employment, using also of the necessary integration of an increasingly better trained youth and female workforce.