NDICI - Global Europe

Organizational profile:

The European Union, with its Member States, is the world’s biggest donor of development assistance and among the first global trading partners and foreign investors.

The Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument – Global Europe (NDICI – Global Europe) is the EU’s main financial tool for promoting sustainable development, peace and stability across the globe. With an overall allocation of €79.5 billion, the new Global Europe will cover the EU cooperation with all third countries, except for the pre-accession beneficiaries and the overseas countries and territories from the geographic programmes. 

Global Europe is managed by the Directorate-General for International Partnerships (DG INTPA), the lead agency for development policy, previously known as DEVCO and Europe Aid.

Global Europe will particularly support countries most in need to overcome long-term developmental challenges and will contribute to achieving the international commitments and objectives that the Union has agreed to, in particular the 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement. It merges several current external financing instruments under the EU budget.

The total allocation is divided into the following pillars:

• Geographic Prorammes foster dialogue and cooperation with third countries, with a budget of €60.39 billion. Each regional envelope is adapted to the needs and priorities of the respective countries and region, which will reflect the EU’s strategic priorities.
• Thematic Programmes fund support to human rights and democracy, civil society, stability and peace, with an envelope of €6.36 billion. It complements activities in the geographic pillar, in as much as they have to be addressed at global level. 
• The rapid response pillar will allow the EU to rapidly and effectively intervene for conflict prevention and to respond to situations of crisis or instability, with an envelope of €3.18 billion. It will help increase partner countries’ resilience, as well as take early action to address the EU’s foreign policy needs.
• A “cushion” of unallocated funds, to top up any of the above-mentioned programmes and the rapid response mechanism in case of unforeseen circumstances, new needs, emerging challenges or new priorities.

Environment and climate change are a cross-cutting priority across the programmes, including actions to tackle illegal logging and wildlife trafficking and promote deforestation-free value chain. The instrument stipulates a spending target of 30% to step up efforts on climate change. 

Global Europe also unifies grants, blending and guarantees (the latter previously subject to specific rules and regulations, such as the EIB’s External Lending Mandate), which will allow the EU to strategically promote public and private investment worldwide in support to sustainable development through the European Fund for Sustainable Development Plus (EFSD+). Investments will be backed by an up to €53.4 billion External Action Guarantee, which will also cover the pre-accession countries.

Project scale: The EU has been supporting the efforts of partner countries to preserve their forests and to contribute to sustainable, inclusive economies and societies. Between 2014 and 2020, EU development cooperation funding invested more than €650 million to support forest-related programmes in partner countries.

Financing Instrument: Grants, Guarantees, Blending, Technical assistance

Recipient countries regions/country groups: Global

Recipient categories: NPOs/NGOs, Governments, Universities, Businesses

Eligibility Criteria:

A grant is a financial donation awarded by the contracting authority to the grant beneficiary. It is funded by the EU general budget or the European Development Fund (EDF). There are two main types of grants:

• An action grant funds a specific action intended to help achieve one of the EU’s policy objectives.
• An operation grant funds the operating costs of an organisation pursuing an objective supporting EU policies.

These financial donations can cover a wide range of sectors and areas and are usually awarded following a call for proposals. Any development organisation meeting the requirements of a specific call can apply for the related grant.

The EU has defined its priority areas and specific objectives for the period 2021-2027 with each partner country and region. This inclusive process is achieved through dialogue with partner countries, EU Member States, civil society organisations, women and youth organisations, local authorities, private sector, the UN and other donors and key stakeholders.

Budget support is an important tool to finance partner countries’ development strategies. It consists of financial transfers to the national treasuries, and also involves policy dialogue and measures to assess the use made of these funds. To benefit from budget support, a beneficiary country must demonstrate commitment to the fundamental values of human rights, democracy and the rule of law.

Application guidelines: 
How to apply for a grant?

1. Search for a grant opportunity on the Calls for proposals and tenders publication website.
2. Read the guidelines for grant applicants carefully and check if your organisation is eligible.
3. Register your organisation in the Potential Applicant Data Online Registration (PADOR).
4. Submit your application within set deadline and under the call’s terms, either by post if allowed or, in most cases, online via the e-Calls PROSPECT portal.

For more information on how to apply for a grant, please visit the EXACT Wiki: https://wikis.ec.europa.eu/display/ExactExternalWiki/Applicants 

The procedures for partner countries are as follows:
When a partner country signs a financing agreement with the EU, this country agrees to take ownership of the development programmes funded through this agreement. A financing agreement allows a direct involvement of the partner country. In certain cases, the EU also signs financing agreements with regional organisations of partner countries. Based on the financing agreement, the partner country may also become a direct recipient of funds (budget support) or it (or the regional organisation) may be involved in the implementation of the funds (indirect management).

Last updated: 10 October 2023