BRUSSELS — If you have heard a European diplomat talking about development policy recently, chances are you’ve heard the slogan “Team Europe.” But if you are not sure what that means in practice, you are not alone. European Union member states have some questions too.
In April, Team Europe was largely a branding exercise, designed by the European Commission partly to combat China in the public relations battle over the response to the COVID-19 pandemic in low-income countries by bringing the work of the EU institutions, member states, and European development banks under the same social media hashtag. Now, with the EU’s 2021-2027 development planning about to begin in earnest, the commission wants to expand the concept with so-called “Team Europe initiatives.”
A draft, seen by Devex, of the commission’s programming guidelines, which will soon be sent to delegations around the world, explains that the initiatives will “promote, under the ‘Team Europe’ brand, ambitious and easily recognisable European flagship initiatives with a maximum transformative impact in partner countries.”