Asia and the European Union are major trading partners. With average gross domestic product growth at more than 5 percent, Asia’s commercial importance to Europe is continuing to grow. But despite its rapid development, Asia still faces major structural and social challenges, with as much as 20 percent of some national populations living in extreme poverty.
These dual focuses — economic and trade relations; and development and cooperative programs — form the basis of EU-Asia strategic relations.
As part of its ongoing EuropeAid Funding Insights series, Devex has analyzed nearly 1.4 billion euros ($1.57 billion) worth of EU planned development activities in Asia during 2016 and early 2017, identifying where the money is going, and how. Explore the data in our interactive visualization.
This article is part of a Devex series on EuropeAid funding, based on an exclusive analysis of EuropeAid data, to give our readers insight into how the agency’s funds are being distributed.
► To read more about what we’ve done, and for a global overview of EuropeAid’s funding priorities as revealed in the data, click here.
► To explore EuropeAid’s planned activities in Africa, click here.
► And watch out for our analysis of EuropeAid development funding in Latin America, Eastern Europe and other regions — coming soon!
If you’re new to EuropeAid, Devex’s introductory guide to the agency and its operations can help you make the most of our data.
The basis of development cooperation between the EU and Asia is the Regional Programming for Asia Multiannual Indicative Programme 2014 - 2020, which guides work in the areas of sustainable development, regional integration and poverty reduction, among others. Within this, the EU’s main tool to tackle these challenges is the Development Cooperation Instrument, or DCI, a broad funding instrument containing thematic budget lines — such as the Global Public Goods and Challenges Program, or GPGC, which focuses on economic, social and environmental development activities.
