Working Better Together in a Team Europe Approach

Inclusive consultations and policy dialogue are key principles of the Team Europe approach. These principles enable actors following a Team Europe approach to:

• identify priorities and modalities to support partner countries in their implementation of national development plans and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the principles and objectives set out in the Paris Agreement³⁰, aligned with Global Gateway strategy and other strategies of the EU and its Member States;
• facilitate and promote inclusive dialogues within a TEI and other types of initiatives or investments to ensure that diverse perspectives are considered;
• provide input and feedback at each stage of the TEIs and the lifecycles of other projects;
• adopt a human rights-based approach³¹ and upholding the principle of free prior and informed consent from indigenous peoples³²;
• be responsive to emerging trends and changing contexts, enhancing preparedness and anticipatory action;
• maximise the potential for private sector engagement and additionality by identifying and structuring investment opportunities aligned with local and European private sector investment portfolios;
• contribute to objective monitoring and evaluation by bringing in different perspectives.
• address fragility (ranging from joint conflict analysis to joint action) in a conflict-sensitive manner

A strategic approach to consultations and dialogue is therefore essential. This is also aligned with the other relevant country-based consultations, namely consultations and dialogue organised in the framework of the design and implementation of the EU civil society roadmap³³, the EU gender action plan III and its country- level implementation plans³⁴, the human rights and democracy strategy³⁵ and the EU youth action plan³⁶. Also, utilising and ensuring synergy with other existing in-country dialogue mechanisms and platforms etc. can contribute to a consistent, efficient and effective approach to consultation and dialogue.

There are well-established international principles and best practices that apply to consultations, which have been endorsed by the EU and are outlined in different reference and guidance documents published by the EU, in line with the OECD standards for public consultations and stakeholder engagement³⁷. They also apply to consultations and policy dialogue in the framework of the Team Europe approach.

However, there are some features which are particular to the Team Europe approach:

• It is intended to promote a coherent European position, which makes systematic joint messaging possible to maximise political and financial leverage.
• The joint nature of consultations, the combined resources and the diversity of actors can attract more attention, and potentially a more substantial and comprehensive level of engagement, from all types of stakeholders.
• The scope of working better together in a Team Europe approach may cover a wide range of topics, from technical topics to (geo) political, social, and economic issues, climate and environmental priorities38, private sector development questions, human rights and civil society related questions, etc. Some of these topics might be sensitive and require more preparation and choreography between European partners during consultation, as well as the application of the ‘do no harm’ approach.
• Particular attention should be given to ensure that actions create co-benefits and meet multiple objectives as well as adheres to general principles³⁹ and mainstreaming priorities⁴⁰.
• Joint consultations and policy dialogue require greater preparation to identify the right stakeholders to engage with, agree on agendas, draft joint messages, design meeting formats and assign lead roles.
• The division of labour should inform different levels of dialogue and responsibility.
• Where relevant, e.g. within contexts where there are large populations of refugees and internally displaced people, they contribute to a coordinated dialogue on approaches to humanitarian crises from a development perspective.

30 NDICI-Regulation, Recital 49: Union action should favour the adherence to the Paris Agreement and the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and the UN Convention to Combat Desertification.
31 The EU seeks to integrate human rights, including the rights of indigenous peoples, into all aspects of its external policies, cooperation and trade as well as into its political dialogues with third countries and regional organisations, at multilateral fora such as the United Nations, and by giving financial support.
32 The rights of indigenous peoples are an integral part of the European Union’s human rights policy as confirmed by the Council conclusions on Indigenous Peoples adopted on 15 May 2017. The EU engagement towards indigenous peoples takes place in the context of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples of 2007, the adoption of which was supported by the EU
33 EU Country Roadmaps for engagement with Civil Society
34 Together towards a gender equal world. See also Annex 10 on Team Europe Initiatives, Joint Programming and the EU Gender Action Plan.
35 EU Annual Reports on Human Rights and Democracy
36 Youth Action Plan
37 https://www.oecd.org/en/about/directorates/directorate-for-public-governance.htmlopen-government.html/
39 NDICI-Global Europe article 8 set our general principles for the instrument including democracy, good governance, the rule of law, human rights, including labour rights, and fundamental freedoms, respect for human dignity, the principles of equality and solidarity, dialogue and cooperation with partner countries, regions and civil society, rights-based approach, gender equality and women’s and girls’ rights and empowerment, development effectiveness principles, inclusive partnership, transparency and country ownership.
40 NDICI-Global Europe article 8,8 set out that programmes and actions under the Instrument shall mainstream the fight against climate change, environmental protection, human rights, democracy, gender equality and, where relevant, disaster risk reduction, and shall address interlinkages between the SDGs, to promote integrated actions that can create co-benefits and meet multiple objectives in a coherent way. Those programmes and actions shall be based on a comprehensive multi-disciplinary analysis of context, capacities, risks and vulnerabilities, integrate a resilience approach and be conflict sensitive, taking into account conflict prevention and peacebuilding. They shall be guided by the principles of ‘do no harm’ and of ‘leaving no one behind.’