Thematic Day: Team Europe Democracy and Global Gateway Initiatives

The Annual Forum of EU Delegation Focal Points for Human Rights and Democracy, Civil Society, Youth and Gender Equality, which took place in Brussels, was a good opportunity for EU Delegation representatives to get a better understanding of the Team Europe Democracy (TED) and the Global Gateway Initiatives.

During a thematic session organised by the TED Secretariat and DG INTPA on 15 March, Mads Wegner Hove, Policy Officer on Sustainable Development Policy and Coordination at DG INTPA, presented the Global Gateway Initiative, a global connectivity strategy initiated by the European Union Commission under the leadership of Ursula von der Leyen. As part of the EU trade relations, the initiative aims to boost smart, clean and secure connections in the digital, energy and transport sectors and to strengthen health, education and research systems across the world. It is an opportunity to trade and invest in partner countries better. However, according to Mr. Hove, it is not just about investments. The fundamental values of the European Union, which are rooted in the EU’s very foundation, underpin the Global Gateway. In his presentation he focused in particular on the relevance of two European principles – the democratic values and high standards as well as good governance and transparency - and established the link with the Team Europe Democracy Initiative, created by the European Commission in 2021.

Laura Bretea, Policy Officer on Democratic Governance at DG INTPA and TED Coordinator, highlighted the abundance of existent EU tools to promote these principles, including the TED Initiative which aims to increase the impact of the European democracy support worldwide through a better coordination among EU Member States, EU Delegations, academia, research centres and civil society organisations. Ms. Bretea explained that one of the TED pillars is the partner country engagement. “We want to work with the European Delegations based on their interest and on the interest of EU Member States to cooperate with them at country level in the TED priority areas: Accountability and Rule of Law; Political and Civic Participation; and Media and Digital. The TED Secretariat works as a facility and will put at your disposal experts on democracy support”, said Ms. Bretea.

Representatives of the European Delegations acknowledged the importance of the Team Europe Democracy Initiative. Marco Ferri, Head of the Political Section of the Delegation of the European Union to Mongolia, said: “It is always good to count on support from the headquarters. A tool through which we can get some expertise is very welcome. With the support of the TED Secretariat, we want to draft an action document for our programme in Mongolia and thus advance democracy”.

Speaking online from Kampala, Cathal Gilbert, Programme Officer and human rights focal point at the Delegation of the European Union to Uganda, said that he is very glad to receive members of the TED Secretariat to concretise the support his delegation will receive. “TED can support us in drafting action documents and implementing joint actions. It can also promote dialogue on democracy support”.

Alexandra Nerisanu, Programme Officer at the Delegation of the European Union to Colombia, said that their focus now is on electoral observation missions and recommendations on how to implement them. “TED will support us to map the support that EU Member States have given us in the area of accountability. Besides that, the Initiative will focus on a more holistic approach on democracy and contribute to ensure the implementation of the Colombian peace agreement. We will be accompanied for a couple of years by the TED Initiative, which is very much interested in a long-term commitment”.

In the end of the session, the focal points had discussions in working groups on the current status of cooperation between Member States and EU Delegations in their partner countries and made suggestions for improvement as well as for a successful implementation of the TED Initiative on the ground.

Link to the photos of the event: https://europa.eu/capacity4dev/team-europe-democracy---ted/photo-albums…