4.1 Definition of Team Europe Initiatives
TEIs are about working better together to ensure that joint external action becomes more than the sum of its parts through three elements:
- scale – combining resources, expertise and tools;
- focus – becoming the partner of reference on selected joint priorities; and
- ensuring visibility – joining forces to promote universal core values of human rights and democracy in partner countries, and the impact of the TEIs.
Most TEIs contribute to implementing the Global Gateway strategy. However, there are also TEIs that contribute to the enabling sectors (e.g. democratic values and high standards, good governance and transparency, and an investment- and trade-friendly environment) and TEIs that are outside the Global Gateway scope (e.g. activities in the sectors of migration and forced displacement, peace and food security).
TEIs combine existing and new resources, instruments and expertise of actors following a Team Europe approach so that they jointly work better together to achieve common objectives in selected areas that are of high shared interest for both the actors following a Team Europe approach and the partner country governments. Guided by the political and policy priorities of TEI participants and underpinned by strategic policy dialogue, TEIs aim to support change by delivering results for partner countries, making the EU and its Member States the partners of reference in a priority area. TEIs focus on identifying a critical priority (bottleneck) that constrains development at country, regional or global level, and where a coordinated and coherent effort by actors following a Team Europe approach would ensure transformative results. Selected TEI areas should therefore be as focused as possible (even at the risk of being seen as too narrow by some). Joint programming should be seen as the tool for broadening collaboration between all actors following a Team Europe approach at a more strategic level.
TEIs are comprised of a number of coordinated, but mostly independent, actions/projects (called components), which are implemented by the individual TEI participants. However, TEIs are more than the sum of these components because they enhance development effectiveness and coordination and also include, for example, joint policy dialogue and joint visibility dimensions. TEIs are based at the most appropriate level, be it country or multi-country or regional level.
In Bolivia, actors following a Team Europe approach decided to have only one TEI on green and resilient development, focusing on climate-resilient landscapes, green energy transition and green economy in sustainable cities. Some Member States (e.g. Belgium and Italy) are not part of the TEI, but they are members of the broader joint programming process, which (in addition to green and resilient development) also includes two other areas of collaboration (democracy and rights; and inclusive social development).
