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Working Better Together as Team Europe Through joint programming and joint implementation Guidance
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Section 2 JP: EU Framework documents and joint programming documents

 

 

Working Better Together as Team Europe
Through joint programming and joint implementation

Guidance

A tool to help EU Delegations work better together with Member States as Team Europe and with like-minded partners and country stakeholders, through joint programming and implementation.

 

 

EU Framework documents and joint programming documents

The NDICI proposal states that geographic multi-annual indicative programmes should be based on: i) national or regional strategies; ii) EU Framework documents (EUFDs) drafted jointly with Member States (MS); or iii) joint documents between the EU and partner countries (mainly applicable to the Neighbourhood, e.g. the ‘Partnership Priorities’ and ‘Association Agendas’).

The EU Framework document lays down the Union policy towards the partner country or countries in question, including a joint document between the Union and MS (Art. 12.3.b of the proposed NDICI). In view of the 20212027 programming, EU Delegations in a number of countries have prepared these EUFDs. They take the form of Heads of Mission Reports entitled ‘HoMs reports framing the Union’s and Member States’ policy towards country X for the period 2021-2027’.

Increasingly complex and challenging situations in partner countries and regions call for a thorough and consolidated approach on the part of Team Europe. The background analytical work produced by Delegations and headquarters through Country, Regional and Thematic Assessments is the backbone of the EUFDs, enriched by the perspective of our MS, as well as through joint analysis. A Team Europe undertaking with a partner country must be built on a well-defined, comprehensive political framework that facilitates coherent and coordinated engagement, reflects EU assessments, including from MS, expresses a common vision and pulls together diverse contributions, instruments and tools. EUFDs will cover 2021-2027, knowing that they may be reviewed when necessary.

The list of countries for which these documents were developed was based on strategic choices, geographical balance, and the following considerations:

  • partner countries that are relevant in their region and in terms of EU engagement, but for which an EU strategy is not available;
  • partner countries where joint programming is not sufficiently advanced.

These considerations apply to partner countries at different levels of development, ranging from fragile and/ or conflict affected states, where the challenges may be more complex and systemic in nature and the variety of instruments mobilised may be broader, to upper middle income countries, with which we develop policy dialogue and partnerships beyond financial cooperation (as these countries need fewer or no concessional forms of bilateral assistance) and in which other instruments may carry more weight.

Based on this rationale, it was agreed to develop HoMs reports for the period 2021-2027 in the following countries:

  • Sub-Saharan Africa: Angola, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Gambia, Guinea, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, South Sudan and Sudan;
  • Asia: Cambodia, Sri Lanka and Thailand;
  • Americas: Argentina, Chile, Colombia, El Salvador and Haiti.

They were jointly drafted by the EU and its MS, based on a shared vision of strategic interests and objectives in the selected country. If this shared vision is already reflected in a joint programming document, it can be used as valuable input for the EUFD.

 

Each section or chapter may be used separately to fulfil a specific need for guidance, which means there may be some overlap between the different parts of the document.

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