1.2.6. Team Europe approach and Team Europe Initiatives
The Team Europe approach and TEIs were born out of the extraordinary conditions created in 2020 by the COVID-19 pandemic, as a united EU response to the major needs emerging in partner countries. These commitments are reflected in the Joint Communication on the Global EU Response to COVID-1913, in the Council Conclusions on the Team Europe Global Response to COVID-1914 and in the Council Conclusions on Team Europe from April 202115. The Council Conclusions on the Team Europe approach from November 2023 further develop and consolidate this approach.
Since its conception, the Team Europe approach has evolved to become a coherent overall approach connecting three main methods that fall within it, namely joint programming, joint implementation and TEIs, which can be used separately or in different combinations. The Team Europe approach is also the way to implement Global Gateway, and can be further applied to contexts where joint actions are of value (e.g. fragile contexts, humanitarian action, etc.). It serves as a comprehensive toolbox that brings together different modalities and tools, and the different activities of the EU and the Member States. While respecting existing decision-making procedures and the respective institutional competences of the stakeholders, the Team Europe approach applies the key principles of development effectiveness. It takes a human rights-based approach to development and contributes to the objectives and targets set by the relevant regulations.
The Team Europe approach is the preferred option in practice for the EU’s and its Member States’ development cooperation and partnerships. It brings together the EU and its Member States, including their development agencies, public development banks and DFIs, as well as the EIB and the EBRD with the aim of fostering inclusiveness and collaboration with and between European actors. EU delegations should act as coordinators on the ground for the Team Europe approach, help include those Member States without representation on the ground, and ensure a proper and timely flow of information.
The Team Europe approach is the preferred option in practice for the development cooperation and partnerships of the EU and its Member States. It brings together different stakeholders within the EU and its Member States, including their implementing agencies, public development banks, DFIs, ECAs, trade promotion agencies, as well as the EIB and the EBRD with the aim of fostering inclusiveness and collaboration with and between European actors. EU Delegations should act as coordinators on the ground for the Team Europe approach, help include those Member States without representation on the ground, and ensure a proper and timely flow of information.
The Team Europe approach supports partner countries in achieving the SDGs in their countries in alignment with their national development plans and strategies. This includes ensuring local ownership, results orientation, impact and mutual accountability through multi-stakeholder dialogue. Furthermore, to increase the efficiency of the Team Europe approach it should make full use of the knowledge, skills, capacities, expertise and political resources of all European actors.
It is integral to the Team Europe approach to engage in joint efforts with a wide range of partners in a multi-stakeholder collaboration to maximise development impact. These partners may include the United Nations and other international organisations, regional development banks, regional and international financial institutions, other development partners, civil society and NGOs, local authorities and communities, the private sector academia and think tanks.
The Team Europe approach promotes the EU as a reliable, values-driven partner through a joint EU narrative on global development, by communicating on key principles and results using established and effective channels to reach both specialised and non-specialised audiences. High-level policy dialogues, joint missions, joint political engagements and joint participation in high-level and investment events in partner countries can further reinforce strategic communication and visibility through the Team Europe approach.
The Team Europe approach increases the capacity of the EU and its Member States to achieve greater scale and impact by bringing together collective resources to fight poverty and achieve the SDGs, address geopolitical challenges and mitigate their consequences and navigate in fragile contexts. It also enables a social, green and digital transition while upholding human rights, democracy, the rule of law and gender equality. The Team Europe approach can also improve coordination across the humanitarian-development-peace nexus. The application of the TEIs Monitoring, Reporting and Evaluation Framework (MORE) in the planning, design and implementation of new and ongoing TEIs helps to capture both their contribution to development results and changing circumstances.
13 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:52020JC0011.
14 Council conclusions, Brussels, 8 June 2020
15 https://data.consilium.europa.eu/doc/document/ST-7894-2021-INIT/en/pdf