Working Better Together in a Team Europe Approach

Using public sector expertise is at the core of SDGs 16 and 17. Building stronger institutions (targets 16.5, 16.6 and 16.7) goes hand in hand with building partnerships, and public sector expertise is the genuine facilitator. Its use is a way to mobilise relevant knowledge from EU Member States, involving public sector experts in partnerships between peer administrations. It nurtures policy dialogue through technical cooperation and fosters the sharing of European values through policy experiences, in the framework of the 2030 Agenda.

Council conclusions on public sector expertise, approved in November 2021, acknowledged at the highest political level public sector expertise as a key asset that EU member states can use in the service of partner countries: ‘Mobilisation of European public sector expertise has proved to be a demand-driven, tailored, flexible, efficient and a cost effective way to build capacity in the public sector and promote public policy reform processes in partner countries, based on their needs, priorities and inclusive ownership’.

Public technical assistance is an enhanced joint implementation method as it involves not only development partners (accustomed to the functioning of projects under the development logic) but also third entities, not necessarily familiarised or oriented towards development, that nevertheless might well be interested in partnering with peer institutions, sharing their knowledge and experiences, and building long-lasting relationships.

Such approaches to support peer-to-peer learning through exchanges of public sector expertise between a partner country and European Member States, in addition to providing technical support, can also contribute to fostering public policy change and/or reforms, as practitioners share their different approaches and experiences to find solutions that fit the context of a particular country.

Peer-to-peer learning through exchanges of Public Sector Expertise can also be strategically deployed to support policy dialogues, coordinated by EU Delegations, at national, regional and transregional levels. This can provide essential contributions to 1) operationalise and articulate the policy first principle (shared policy priorities guiding development tools) in support of TEI implementation and 2) identify and support the regulatory and policy reforms required for the successful start and implementation of those EFSD+’s PIPs channelled through Global Gateway flagships.

By capitalising ‘privileged existing dialogue entry points actors following a Team Europe approach may have’, peer-to-peer learning through exchanges of Public Sector Expertise nurtures structured policy dialogue mechanisms with actors following a Team Europe approach and whole-of-government (partner’s side) approach, supporting policy reform and guiding all cooperation modalities (including financial cooperation and investments) towards sustainable development results.

EU Member States' organisations and members of the Practitioners’ Network, EDFI and JEFIC, as actors following a Team Europe approach representing mainly technical cooperation within the emerging European Architecture for Development, can bring their experience and established networks in partner countries, acting as facilitators/ Secretariat for EU Delegations to support policy dialogue processes during TEI implementation, contributing to high-impact and sustainable Global Gateway investments

Both Twinning [133] and TAIEX [134] support peer-to-peer learning through exchanges of public sector expertise between a partner country and European Member State(s). In addition to providing technical support, they can also foster policy-change and/or reforms as practitioners share their different approaches and experiences to find solutions that fit a country context.

The European Commission institutional building tools – Twinning and TAIEX – have expanded beyond the pre-accession countries to the Neighbourhood countries and subsequently even further. EC Twinning is implemented according to a specific Twinning manual and relies on national contact points in Member States to support the mobilisation of European public sector expertise in response to partner countries’ needs and ambitions. Cooperation between administrations from different Member States is highly encouraged. In addition to this tool, Member States have a variety of ways to mobilise public sector expertise.

TAIEX, the Technical Assistance and Information Exchange instrument, facilitates sharing of EU best practices on ad hoc request. It is largely needs-driven and delivers appropriate tailor-made expertise to address issues at short notice in three ways: 1) workshops: Member States experts present specific areas of EU legislation in workshops to a large number of beneficiary officials; 2) expert missions: Member States expert(s) are sent to the beneficiary administration to provide in-depth advice on the transposition, implementation or enforcement of a specific part of EU legislation; and 3) study visits: a group of three practitioners from a beneficiary administration take part in a study visit to a Member States’ administration.

133 https://neighbourhood-enlargement.ec.europa.eu/funding-and-technical-assistance/twinning_en
134 https://neighbourhood-enlargement.ec.europa.eu/funding-and-technical-assistance/taiex_en