Neighbourhood, Development And International Cooperation Instrument
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The Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument – Global Europe, also known as the NDICI-GE or simply Global Europe, is a
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
financial instrument through which the EU invests in
development Development or developing may refer to: Arts *Development (music), the process by which thematic material is reshaped * Photographic development *Filmmaking, development phase, including finance and budgeting * Development hell, when a proje ...
, improving governance, and fighting
climate change Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...
in non-EU states. The NDICI-GE is part of the wider
Global Gateway The Global Gateway Initiative is a strategy by the European Union to invest in infrastructure projects worldwide. The project was initiated by the EU Commission under the leadership of Ursula von der Leyen. Over the period 2021–2027, the EU w ...
strategy.


History

Negotiations for the establishment of the NDICI-GE were concluded in December 2020, and the structure of the instrument was approved by the
Council of the European Union The Council of the European Union, often referred to in the treaties and other official documents simply as the Council, and less formally known as the Council of Ministers, is the third of the seven institutions of the European Union (EU) a ...
. In March 2021, it was endorsed in principle by the
European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...
. The regulation legally authorising the NDICI was approved by the Council and Parliament on 9 June; it came into force on 14 June, but applied retroactively to 1 January 2021. Since its adoption, the NDICI-GE is the EU's main financial instrument for development and foreign aid. Previously, EU external spending on development was channelled through multiple separate financial instruments. The European Commission conducted a mid-term evaluation of the NDICI-GE in 2024. It concluded that the instrument had proven "fit for purpose", but noted that, despite improvements over previous funding mechanisms it was still insufficiently flexible to respond to unexpected global events.


Composition

The Instrument has a total budget of €79.46 billion. At its establishment, it was broken down into four pillars: *The "geographic" pillar: €60.39bn, of which: **at least €19.32 is for the EU's "neighbourhood" – non-EU member states in Eastern and Southeastern Europe, and North Africa **at least €29.18bn is for states in
Sub-Saharan Africa Sub-Saharan Africa is the area and regions of the continent of Africa that lie south of the Sahara. These include Central Africa, East Africa, Southern Africa, and West Africa. Geopolitically, in addition to the list of sovereign states and ...
**at least €8.49bn is for states in the
Asia–Pacific The Asia–Pacific (APAC) also Known as Indo-Pacific is the region of the world adjoining the western Pacific Ocean. The region's precise boundaries vary depending on context, but countries and territories in Australasia, East Asia, and Southea ...
region ** at least €3.39bn is for states in the Americas and the
Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...
**unspecified amounts are allocated to overseas countries and territories of EU member states, and to states states which have begun the EU accession process *The "thematic pillar": €6.36bn, of which: **€1.36bn is for projects related to human rights and democracy **€1.36bn is for civil society organisations **€910 million is for
peace Peace is a state of harmony in the absence of hostility and violence, and everything that discusses achieving human welfare through justice and peaceful conditions. In a societal sense, peace is commonly used to mean a lack of conflict (suc ...
, stability and
conflict resolution Conflict resolution is conceptualized as the methods and processes involved in facilitating the peaceful ending of Conflict (process), conflict and Revenge, retribution. Committed group members attempt to resolve group conflicts by actively co ...
**€2.73bn is for "global challenges", including health, education, empowerment of women and children, migration and
forced displacement Forced displacement (also forced migration or forced relocation) is an involuntary or coerced movement of a person or people away from their home or home region. The UNHCR defines 'forced displacement' as follows: displaced "as a result of perse ...
, and
food security Food security is the state of having reliable access to a sufficient quantity of affordable, healthy Human food, food. The availability of food for people of any class, gender, ethnicity, or religion is another element of food protection. Simila ...
*The "rapid response pillar": €3.18bn **Available to respond to emerging crises, humanitarian needs and "the EU's foreign policy needs and priorities" *€9.53bn in unallocated funds, to top up other areas of the Instrument as necessary over its lifetime 10% of the total budget is "dedicated particularly to actions supporting management and governance of migration and forced displacement". States in receipt of funding can unlock additional funds above those allocated to them in the initial budget if they are able to demonstrate progress in cooperating with the EU to reduce irregular migration into Europe. As of 2024, more than 80% of the unallocated "cushion" had been spent, with much of it going to
Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...
following its invasion by Russia in 2022.


Criticism

The NDICI-GE has been criticised by
civil society Civil society can be understood as the "third sector" of society, distinct from government and business, and including the family and the private sphere.Oxfam Oxfam is a British-founded confederation of 21 independent non-governmental organizations (NGOs), focusing on the alleviation of global poverty, founded in 1942 and led by Oxfam International. It began as the Oxford Committee for Famine Relief ...
has alleged that it "prioritise the EU’s domestic migration concerns over development objectives".


References

{{reflist


External links


Official website
European Union foreign aid Politics of the European Union European Union development policy