A first look at the 'Team Europe initiatives'
Devex dives into the European Commission's plans for "transformational impact" in dozens of countries and regions over the next seven years.
By Vince Chadwick // 15 March 2021The European Commission and European Union member states may together be the world’s largest provider of official development assistance, but Europe’s wide reach sometimes invites the argument that it is spread too thin. Enter the “Team Europe initiatives,” or TEIs: the commission’s attempt to marshal member states, as well as the European Investment Bank and European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, to make Europe the partner of reference in certain sectors in partner countries. “I often make the comparison of a football team,” Koen Doens, the head of the commission’s development department, said during a recent webinar for the private sector. “They are not all [Cristiano] Ronaldo or [Lionel] Messi. We have different players in the football team with different qualities, different styles, and so on. The real issue is to make them play as a team. And the greatest teams do not only have strong individuals; they have strong individuals that play together.” That is easier said than done. The member states and development banks do not necessarily plan their work at the same time as the commission. And some member states are concerned that too much of the commission’s overall funding envelope for each partner country will go to the TEIs. As the European Centre for Development Policy Management pointed out recently, the impetus for greater coordination of European development actors is not new. “It will be important that the member states and the DFIs [development finance institutions] contribute to the co-creation of TEIs,” the think tank wrote in a policy paper. “The question will be what opportunities and incentives will exist for them to remain engaged moving forward.” EU delegations recently sent their 2021-2027 programming plans, including possible TEIs, for assessment by HQ in Brussels. Even before that, however, a list of more advanced ideas for TEIs from around 40 countries and regions was shared with member states last month. Those initiatives — obtained by Devex and summarized below, though they are still being honed — clearly mirror Brussels’ priorities, namely sustainable energy, digitalization, and jobs. Afghanistan Focus: Sustainable jobs for peace: sustainable energy, agribusiness, and sustainable business. Catching our eye: “Potential for credit guarantees for green finance: loan/guarantee facility for Afghan companies with involvement of EU and [member state] financing institutions. This could be facilitated through cooperation with Afghan Credit Guarantee Foundation (ACGF) or IFC/World Bank.” Angola Focus: Economic diversification: private sector, small and medium-sized enterprise development; export promotion and investments; and investment climate. Catching our eye: “[Belgium, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, and Sweden] have identified climate-smart agriculture and sustainable fisheries (blue economy) as the most promising sectors to ensure diversification of economy, food security, fight against poverty and to increase the resilience of family farming to climate change.” Argentina Focus: Digitalization: reducing the digital divide, increasing regulatory alignment, and boosting scientific cooperation. Green investment and sustainable supply chains: sustainable agriculture, municipal-level climate change, and sustainable waste management. Catching our eye: “The [digitalization] TEI also aims to … take advantage of the commercial opportunities provided by the EU-MERCOSUR Trade Agreement, such as cross- border electronic sales.” Association of Southeast Asian Nations Focus: Green alliance: clean energy, circular economy, biodiversity, sustainable food systems, and green smart cities. Catching our eye: One “horizontal issue” identified in the plan: “Reducing pollution.” “Poor air quality is a significant issue in ASEAN, where the vast majority of the population is exposed to pollutant levels typically two to four times above World Health Organization target levels.” Bangladesh Focus: Decent work. Catching our eye: “The Government is about to launch a contributory pension fund for workers (in the formal and informal sectors). Financial and technical support (e.g. through budget support or blending) could be envisaged to solidly establish, sustain and build trust in the fund for the first years of operations – focusing on the most vulnerable beneficiaries.” Bolivia Focus: Green and resilient development: sustainability and climate change, green energy transition, and green economy in sustainable cities. Catching our eye: On sustainable cities: “Opportunities for partnerships and resources leverage: consulted private sector has indicated that there is already a group of SMEs active in the circular economy sector and interested in scaling up actions in partnership with the public sector and with support of [the] donor community. European enterprises work in the sector, also with EIB support, in other [Latin American] countries.” Brazil Focus: Sustainable investment and recovery: sustainable and smart cities and tropical forests. Catching our eye: “We would be interested in exploring with Brazilian and European Financial Institutions risk sharing mechanisms (via access to EU guarantees) for sustainable investments in bioeconomy and land use in Brazil. Public and private financial institutions in Brazil have shown a lot of interest in sustainable investment in the Amazon.” Cameroon Focus: Green deal and resilience: climate resilience, resource management, economic opportunities, food systems/agriculture, and good governance. Catching our eye: “It’s about averting the north of Cameroon from becoming an even more fertile ground for Boko Haram or other terrorist groups to establish a ‘caliphate’ in the region bordering Nigeria and Chad.” Cape Verde Focus: “To Green Cabo Verde”: green tourism, job creation; sustainable energy; water and sanitation; and blue economy and agriculture. Catching our eye: “The island [of Maio] has a great potential for tourism development and subsequent contribution to national GDP [gross domestic product]. A large scale investment project of more than EUR 500 million with foreign investors has already been announced by the Government. However the feasibility of such [a] project under the current COVID reality, and in absence of an international airport on the Island remains unclear. In the coming years the population of Maio may exponentially increase if the investment and tourism plans consolidate. Avoiding a slum based urbanisation for construction workers and hotel staff will be a major challenge.” Chile Focus: Renewable energy: green hydrogen, also known as GH2. Catching our eye: “Chile has the potential of becoming a regional lead on GH2. Strengthening Chile’s production and [using] GH2 capacity would allow to enhance south-south cooperation with other countries in Latin America. The EU can benefit from such a sub-regional GH2 network to expand the opportunities for EU companies and to generate knowledge for the development of EU regional energy cooperation strategies/programs for energy transition and decarbonisation in Latin America.” Colombia Focus: Green deal: local development, cities and infrastructure, and finance and institutions. Peace: socioeconomic development, governance, and rule of law. Catching our eye: “Achieving a stable, countrywide and lasting peace in Colombia would have a much bigger impact on the country’s social and economic development than any possible sectoral policy or economic reform.” Costa Rica Focus: Green recovery, decarbonization, and sustainable urban mobility. Digitalization and innovation. Catching our eye: “The EIB has also confirmed its strong interest in future investments in Costa Rica as part of its long term regional strategy on climate action and environment. … As scope for sovereign lending in Costa Rica is constrained by fiscal discipline ceilings the role of EFSD+ [European Fund for Sustainable Development Plus] will be crucial to unlock private investments, especially through de-risking.” Côte d’Ivoire Focus: Sustainable cocoa. Catching our eye: The EU delegation is playing an active role in the preparation of a national strategy for the production of sustainable cocoa. Cuba Focus: Ecological transition. Catching our eye: “Cuba has half the EU carbon emissions per capita, a very resilient society and high degree of innovation. It also holds a major source of cobalt and nickel, critical to the storage of renewable energy.” Djibouti Focus: Governance. Catching our eye: “Justice sector reform risks passing unnoticed by the final beneficiaries if it is not implemented properly.” Dominican Republic Focus: Fostering the private sector for a sustainable socioeconomic recovery. Catching our eye: “Despite a steady economic growth (5.8% in average in the last decade) in the Dominican Republic, improvements on the economic front have not been coupled with comparable social progress, suggesting that the gains of strong economic expansion are mostly captured by a few.” Democratic Republic of the Congo Focus: Green alliance: green economy and biodiversity. Catching our eye: “The challenge consists of developing DRC and lifting its population from poverty through valuing and protecting its natural heritage.” East Timor Focus: Green economic recovery: green and sustainable economic development and poverty reduction, environment, climate, energy, and governance. Catching our eye: “Timor-Leste is beset by an opaque bureaucracy, complex licensing laws, legal uncertainty, problems with the land law and widespread corruption. Credit is hard to obtain. While one-person businesses abound, very few have the funds, ambition, or know-how to grow into small companies. Domestic supply chains need significant upgrading in terms of quality and competitiveness.” Gabon Focus: Green economy. Sustainable jobs. Catching our eye: “Corruption, which is a real problem, must continue to be fought in order not to obliterate the possibility of attracting foreign investments.” Ghana Focus: Smart, green, digital recovery: green economy, urban management, and climate-smart agriculture and biodiversity. Catching our eye: “EIB in particular could contribute to invest in telecom infrastructures and digital services.” “Germany will consider promotion of inclusive growth by fostering digital innovation via support for digital transformation in rural areas, support to technology start-ups, support to strengthen know-how on Artificial Intelligence.” Guyana and Suriname Focus: Forest partnership. Catching our eye: “The Amazon is an area of geostrategic importance to portray the EU engagement towards achieving sustainable development and building back better in a Covid-19 recovery context.” Haiti Focus: Education and professional training. Catching our eye: “Regarding access, create public-private partnerships and/or a range of opportunities (European businesses; EIB; AFD [Agence Française de Développement] and Proparco): to finance the digitization of the [education] sector.” Honduras Focus: Climate change and natural resource management. Catching our eye: “When implemented effectively, the political return of Team Europe Initiative will pin EU support on the regional map of Central America. For example, like minded, and similarly challenged by corruption, countries could follow suit, in solving their own governance when they witness that EU support accompanied Honduras in meeting its obligations under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.” Iraq Focus: Sustainable and inclusive socioeconomic perspectives Catching our eye: “[EU DFIs] have already pre-screened some potential investment projects. … [European development agencies] can be expected together with other national institutional partners to capitalise on opportunities in economic transformation following a decade of investment in stabilization since 2003.” Kenya Focus: Digitalization. Green transition. Catching our eye: “An EU-Kenya partnership on digitalisation can help Kenya tap into the EU’s sizeable business, regulatory experience and capital markets, thereby complementing its strong digital ties with the US and China.” Laos Focus: Green initiative: farm to fork and forest partnership. Catching our eye: “As it prepares to graduate from LDC [least developed countries] status, Lao PDR has embarked on a broad-based governance reform, which may establish the foundations for a better use of its natural and human capital for sustainable and equitable growth.” Lesotho Focus: Green deal: water, energy, and natural resources. Catching our eye: “The TEI is based on the assumption that agreed national reforms will be implemented in reasonable time and the most critical ones before the next elections in 2022. These reforms are expected to lead to a substantially improved governance situation and end decades of recurrent political instability.” Madagascar Focus: Sustainable energy. Catching our eye: “The EU has a real added-value in its subsidies in rural electrification (good experience in this sub-sector and high expectations from authorities who know the EU as an historic partner).” Mauritania Focus: Green-blue economy. Catching our eye: “Mauritanian partners have high expectations on all the sectors of this initiative. The EU and its member states must show a big mobilization of resources to remain sufficiently credible for national authorities, to be able to influence the relevant sectoral reforms and to have a transformative effect.” Mozambique Focus: E-youth: education, employment, and empowerment. Catching our eye: “The local youth is clearly interested in creating start-ups and becoming entrepreneurs, what they are lacking is structured training, mentoring, networking, and physical spaces to meet and develop their products into businesses.” “Unproductive and excluded youth are a threat to themselves and state stability.” Myanmar Focus: Green: natural resources, low-carbon energy, cities, industry, private sector engagement, agriculture, and aquaculture and fisheries. Catching our eye: “In line with the EU’s strategic interest to maintain a level playing field for EU investors and promote trade, and taking into account the current lack of resilient infrastructure and the country’s vulnerability to climate change, EU businesses have an opportunity to bring their skills as well as social and environmental standards.” Nepal Focus: Green Recovery Alliance: sustainable natural resource-based job creation, priority infrastructure, cleaner environment, and resilience. Catching our eye: “The development challenges of Nepal are immense and there is risk that the Government programmes a trade-off between economic growth and the environment.” Nicaragua Focus: Green recovery: climate change mitigation and adaptation, water management, and resilient agriculture. Catching our eye: “The EU and its member states (plus Switzerland) are already Nicaragua’s main partner in the areas of climate adaptation, water management and resilient agriculture with ongoing joint and complementary interventions. This TE initiative provides an opportunity to deepen that cooperation.” Papua New Guinea Focus: Forestry, climate change, biodiversity, and renewable energy Catching our eye: One suggested approach: “Engage with European palm oil buyers (or other plantation commodities – copra, cocoa, rubber) to co-invest in the PNG sustainable palm oil (or other commodities) concessions and production.” Paraguay Focus: Climate action and environmental protection. Inequalities. Catching our eye: “The EU has a clear comparative advantage and credibility in relation to other international players. The [environment] TEI has also strong potential to facilitate EU-Mercosur Association Agreement ratification and implementation.” Rwanda Focus: Sustainable and inclusive agricultural transformation Catching our eye: The aim? “A shift towards market-oriented high value cropping systems geared towards feeding the cities.” Senegal Focus: Green economy: “agropoles” of the future and sustainable and digital cities. Catching our eye: “The identification, preparation and implementation of future interventions will rely in large part on the activity of the [Digital4Development] Hub (already operational).” Sierra Leone Focus: Green alliance: sustainable energy, agri-food systems, and marine biodiversity. Catching our eye: “Deeply embedded in the social, cultural and political landscape of Sierra Leone are endemic governance flaws including patronage, corruption and elite capturing. The resulting widespread policy and institutional inefficiencies undermine reform efforts, contribute to a large informal sector and constrain investments.” South Africa Focus: Just and green recovery: policy reform, unlocking green investments, and knowledge-based transition. Catching our eye: “Strategies must contain locally developed/tested solutions with the double objective of ensuring the best fitted outputs for SA and the most relevant contributions to the development of the Southern African region, the African continent, and even the global south.” Sri Lanka Focus: Clean water for all. Catching our eye: “The EU will also leverage some of the key investments (through blending or guarantee operations) for infrastructure to strengthen even more its policy dialogue and its visibility in the sector.” Togo Focus: Sustainable agribusiness. Decentralization and local governance. Catching our eye: “Togo has less polluted soil than other surrounding countries. With this comparative advantage, it should position itself regarding organic products to lift the sustainability of its [agribusiness] development.” Uruguay Focus: Environmental protection and sustainability. Catching our eye: “Uruguay’s overall environmental track-record is good, notably on renewable energy, but the state’s budget allocation as well as civil society’s attention to environmental issues have been relatively low for a country of this level of development.” Uzbekistan Focus: Inclusive and green growth: agri-food sector and rural development. Catching our eye: European Commission’s provisional budget for public diplomacy (“engaging strategically with partners and targeted audiences to promote the ‘TEI brand’, build trust and improve their understanding of EU priorities, and to enhance TEI’s visibility”): €1 million.
The European Commission and European Union member states may together be the world’s largest provider of official development assistance, but Europe’s wide reach sometimes invites the argument that it is spread too thin.
Enter the “Team Europe initiatives,” or TEIs: the commission’s attempt to marshal member states, as well as the European Investment Bank and European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, to make Europe the partner of reference in certain sectors in partner countries.
“I often make the comparison of a football team,” Koen Doens, the head of the commission’s development department, said during a recent webinar for the private sector. “They are not all [Cristiano] Ronaldo or [Lionel] Messi. We have different players in the football team with different qualities, different styles, and so on. The real issue is to make them play as a team. And the greatest teams do not only have strong individuals; they have strong individuals that play together.”
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Vince Chadwick is a contributing reporter at Devex. A law graduate from Melbourne, Australia, he was social affairs reporter for The Age newspaper, before covering breaking news, the arts, and public policy across Europe, including as a reporter and editor at POLITICO Europe. He was long-listed for International Journalist of the Year at the 2023 One World Media Awards.