The EU’s 2025 DAC peer review: From diagnosis to action

Last week, the OECD launched the 2025 Development Assistance Committee (DAC) peer review of the European Union’s development cooperation. The review assesses the impact of “the Union’s evolving development paradigm”, and notably of the Global Gateway (GG) strategy, on its capacity to deliver on its primary development objective to reduce poverty. The review highlights the concern that a more (commercially) interest-driven approach could divert the development agenda. 

The peer reviewers urge the Union to preserve its strong track record of untied aid and to safeguard access to concessional finance for least developed countries (LDCs) and other countries most exposed to fragility. They also make a plea to continue predictable support to basic human development, institutional strengthening, crisis prevention and resilience building, and to other actions around the humanitarian-development-peace nexus, beyond GG. To scale up the Global Gateway strategy, the EU needs to simplify its working methods and make them more transparent; it also needs to clarify the newly stated 360-degree approach to ensure inclusivity and sustainability of the envisaged investments. 

The peer review arrives at a timely moment because some of its recommendations can be integrated in the preparation of the EU’s 2028-2034 multiannual financial framework and, in particular, of its Global Europe instrument for external action.