Global Europe: The Neighbourhood, Development & International Cooperation Instrument

The total budget is €79.5 billion.

International Partnerships are the EU’s arm to promote good governance, human and economic development and tackle global issues including poverty, hunger and preserving natural resources. The programme does that with partner countries across the world. The Global Europe: Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument is the principal financial tool of the EU’s international cooperation for the period of 2021-2027.

Global Europe unifies grants, blending and guarantees, which will allow the EU to strategically promote public and private investment worldwide in support of sustainable development through the European Fund for Sustainable Development Plus (EFSD+). Investments will be backed by an up to €53.4 billion External Action Guarantee, which will also cover the pre-accession countries.

The types of programmes to implement European development assistance and international cooperation are either the:

• Geographic Pillar: Foster dialogue and cooperation with third countries, with a budget of €60.39 billion. This pillar targets a specific country or region and will reflect regional and EU policies as well the implementation of the SDGs.
• Thematic Pillar: Will complement activities of the first pillar, and funds support to human rights and democracy, civil society, stability, and peace, with an envelope of €6.36 billion.
• Rapid-Response Pillar: Allows the EU to intervene for conflict prevention rapidly and effectively and to respond to situations of crisis or instability; with an envelope of €3.18 billion it aims to increase resilience and early response.

The programme’s priorities are the following:

• Green alliances and partnerships
• Alliances for science, technology, innovation and digitalAlliances for sustainable growth and jobs
• Partnerships for migration and mobility
• Partnerships for human development, peace and governance

As the EU’s primary financial tools for international cooperation, Global Europe should be the first door to push for any social economy organisations active in the field. Social economy organisations such as associations dedicated to development, peace and stability, or else civil society promotion should look into the programme’s geographic, thematic and rapid-response pillars.

Social economy businesses may look into the External Action Guarantee which raises additional financial resources and leverages private investment in development actions to boost sustainable development and aims to support micro and SMEs, promote job creation, support the digital economy, amongst others. The External Action Guarantee (under Pillar 1) aims to:

• Support micro enterprises and SMEs
• Promote decent job creation
• Strengthen public and private infrastructureFoster renewable energy and sustainable agricultureSupport the digital economy
• Address the health and socio-economic consequences of the COVID-19 crisis

Many of these objectives can be shared by social economy organisations.

Eligible organisations include any non-profit organisation or company active in the field of development.

There are multiple geographic areas covered by the programme:

• East Africa
• Southern Africa and Indian Ocean
• Central Africa
• Sub-Saharan Africa, Caribbean and Pacific
• Central Asia Middle East/Gulf Asia
• Pacific
• Latin America
• Caribbean
• Overseas Countries and Territories in the Atlantic, Antarctic, Arctic, Caribbean, Indian Ocean and Pacific region

• Visit the Global Europe programme website.
• Understand the programme: Familiarize yourself with the objectives and priorities of the Global Europe Programme. This will help you determine if your project aligns with the programme's goals.
• Find funding opportunities: Explore the website to identify the available funding opportunities within the Digital Europe Programme. Look for specific calls for proposals or funding schemes that match your project's focus in the funding and tender opportunities portal.
• Review eligibility criteria: Carefully read the eligibility criteria for the funding opportunity you are interested in. Make sure your organization and project meet all the specified requirements.
• Prepare your application: Gather all the necessary information and documents needed for your application, such as project details, budget, work plan, and supporting materials. Follow the guidelines provided on the website to ensure your application is complete and meets all requirements.
• Submit your application: Submit your application through the designated application portal or submission method indicated on the website. Pay attention to any deadlines mentioned and ensure you submit your application before the stated closing date.

Each year, the EC publishes:

• Action programmes: with objectives, fields of intervention, expected results, management procedures, and total amounts of allocated funds. .
• Work programmes for grants: specifying the legislation, objectives, and schedule of calls for proposals, with indicative amounts of funding and expected results.

Remember, the steps outlined above provide a general overview. It is essential to refer to the official website for the most accurate and detailed information.

• To access to the official webpage of the programme: Global Europe: Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument (europa.eu)
• To get all info needed about the multi-annual indicative programmes: Global Europe - Programming (europa.eu)
• To learn more with the performance overview of the programme: Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument – Global Europe - Performance (europa.eu)
• To get access to Funding and tenders opportunities portal: Funding & tenders (europa.eu)
• To know more on how can I access to the funds Looking for funding (europa.eu)
• To get a brief overview about Global Europe: factsheet-global-europe-ndici-june-2021_en.pdf (europa.eu)
• You can find further information on EXACT External Wiki a knowledge base for our external partners.

Directorate General for International Partnerships is accessible in many way:

• The Knowledge hub promotes learning and knowledge sharing, visit it here.
• The Funding and technical assistance helps you to find information about EU Funds for external action, here.

Your national or regional authorities, networks, and incubators are the best entry points to access to tailor-made information regarding your needs!

History of the programme

The new NDICI- Global Europe instrument merges several former EU external financing instruments. Among them:

• The Development Cooperation Instrument. It was the main financial instrument in the EU budget for funding aid to developing countries during the 2014-2020.
• The European Neighbourhood Instrument. It financed, for the 2014-2020 period, the European neighbourhood policy, which aims at supporting political, economic and social reform processes in the EU's neighbouring countries
• The European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights. It aimed at providing support for the promotion of democracy and human rights in non-EU countries.
• The Partnership Instrument for Cooperation with Third Countries. It was, in 2014-2020, the EU's first instrument specifically designed to promote the EU's strategic interests worldwide by reinforcing its external strategies, policies and initiatives.

Responsible Directorate-General in the European Commission

The programme is led by Directorate-General International Partnership (INTPA).

Associated Directorate-General are DG for Education and Culture (EAC), Economic and Financial Affairs (ECFIN), Service for Foreign Policy Instruments (FPI), European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations (NEAR), DG for Regional and Urban Policy (REGIO)

Duration

2021-2027