Global Europe

80.59 billion

Instrument for development cooperation, with third countries and with neighboring countries

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DG / Responsible Agencies: INTPA | NEAR | FPI | EEAS

Potential beneficiaries

International organizations, NGOs active in the field of development cooperation, public bodies and organizations, companies and private entities, in the EU and various countries (third countries and recipient countries worldwide).

Description and objectives

The EU faces growing external challenges. Political fragility, instability and conflict, terrorism, inequality and migration pressures have combined with the global Covid-19 crisis and other long-term trends such as population growth, climate change and environmental degradation. These circumstances affect the welfare and security of European countries and challenge the founding values of the EU as well as its international role and reputation.

The goal of Global Europe is to support and promote the values and interests of the Union around the world and to help the EU address the international landscape, in all thematic areas and adapting to the needs of different countries and regions: the countries of the European Neighborhood, Sub-Saharan Africa, Asia and the Pacific, the Americas, and the Caribbean. The program contributes:

• To the elimination of poverty;
• to the consolidation, support and promotion of peace, democracy, the rule of law and respect for human rights;
• sustainable development and combating climate change;
• To the promotion of multilateralism;
• to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, the United Nations 2030 Agenda and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change;
• to the creation of stronger partnerships with the European neighborhood and third countries in general, based on mutual interests, commitment and responsibility;
• To promote stabilization, good governance and resilience building.

Global Europe includes, among its most important horizontal priorities, human development and social inclusion, gender equality, preservation of biodiversity, combating climate change and the root causes of migration and forced displacement.

Types of actions and projects

Global Europe operates through three pillars:

• A geographical pillar, which groups cooperation into regional components;
• a thematic pillar, which takes up specific global issues, for example, human rights, stability and peace;
• a non-programmable rapid response pillar that addresses crisis, resilience, and links humanitarian and development actions with EU foreign policy needs and priorities.

At least 25 percent of the budget is allocated specifically to countries in the European Neighborhood and at least 36 percent to sub-Saharan Africa. There is a specific reserve to address emerging challenges and priorities. The program can raise additional financial resources from the private sector to support financing and investment operations in all geographic areas, particularly in less developed, fragile and conflict-affected countries.

The thematic areas of intervention can be as varied: as many as the EU’s global challenges and the needs of the beneficiary countries. They change according to countries and geographical areas, evolving EU and recipient country priorities, and are subject to joint planning between the EU, recipient country and other international cooperation actors. They can cover human rights and democracy, civil society, stability and peace, health, education and training, women and children, labor and social protection, culture and media, migration, environment and climate change, agriculture and food security, economic development and trade policies, energy, water, infrastructure, institutional strengthening, resilience and humanitarian assistance, and more.

Highlights

The program brings together a number of instruments from the previous programming period, both included in the budget (Development Cooperation Instrument and Neighborhood Instrument) and outside it (European Development Fund). The unification of these instruments into one program should ensure greater consistency, effectiveness, flexibility and simplicity in the planning and execution of interventions.