EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM

1.CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL

•Reasons for and objectives of the proposal

This proposal is made in the context of the external heading of the multiannual financial framework (MFF) 2028-2034. The communication ‘The road to the next multiannual financial framework’ 1 , sets the main priorities and principles of EU external action under the EU budget, which aims to be simpler, more focused, more flexible, with a greater impact and to deliver on EU priorities.

The international landscape has changed significantly over the last years, appearing far less predictable and stable. The impact of the current geopolitical instability on the EU and on partner countries is increasing, notably following Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, the conflicts in the Middle East, the US administration’s disengagement from external aid, the increasing risk of pandemics, the trade tensions, and the technology competition. These challenges, along with the widening gap to reach the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030, require the EU to adapt its external action financing to better serve its strategic interests and address current and future crises.

The objective of the proposed Instrument, Global Europe, is to uphold and promote the Union’s values, principles and interests worldwide to pursue the objectives and principles of the Union’s external action, as laid down in Article 3(5), Articles 8 and 21 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU). Global Europe will contribute to the objectives of the EU’s external action, by promoting mutually beneficial partnerships with partner countries, contributing simultaneously to the sustainable development of partner countries and to the Union’s strategic interests. Global Europe will also allow the Union to be better positioned to address global challenges.

The proposed Instrument is based on four main guiding principles, which are further detailed in the different sections of this document.

–Simplification of the architecture of the external heading, through one main instrument for EU external action and with a horizontal Performance Regulation 2 for the entire MFF, covering monitoring, reporting, evaluation and communication.

–Coherence of action, with increased geographisation, more focus on coherence, consistency and complementarity between internal and external programmes, as well as a stronger Team Europe approach.

–Flexibility of the instrument, preserving some of the flexibilities of NDICI-Global Europe including its general reserve (the cushion), financial flexibilities and the possibility to adopt delegated acts, and increasing them through the reduction of targets and easier budgetary transfers between and within pillars, as well as budgetary flexibilities among MFFs (below more details on architecture and on flexibilities).

–Impact of EU action, with a strengthened toolbox allowing to build comprehensive packages; with a streamlined and more efficient guarantee and blending framework, and a stronger promotion of European interests.

To further simplify, increase coherence and ensure the effectiveness of the Union's external action, Global Europe serves a wide range of policies, namely the enlargement, neighbourhood, international partnerships and humanitarian aid policies, maintaining the specificities of each policy, fostered through a broad array of tools. Through this proposal the EU will continue to deliver on the objectives of pre-accession, to engage with partner countries, including in complex settings and to provide humanitarian assistance. The proposed instrument will also provide increased economic and trade opportunities to the mutual benefit of the Union and partner countries, support sustainable development, promote human rights, gender equality and EU multilateral engagement, fight the root causes of irregular migration, forced displacement, instability climate change, and protect the environment. The general objectives of the Instrument are detailed in Article 4 of the proposed Regulation and the specific objectives are specified and detailed in Annex II.

Building on the experience of the NDICI-Global Europe that superseded eleven former Regulations, in line with the priorities set out in the communication ‘The road to the next multiannual financial framework’ and as concluded in the impact assessment accompanying this Regulation, Global Europe incorporates and builds on:

–The Regulations (EU) 2021/947 establishing Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation – Global Europe (NDICI-Global Europe), amending and repealing Decision No 466/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU) 2017/1601 and Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 480/2009;

–The Regulation (EU) 2021/1529 establishing the Instrument for Pre-Accession assistance (IPA III);

–The Regulation (EU) 2024/792 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 February 2024 establishing the Ukraine Facility;

–The Regulation (EU) 2024/1449 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 May 2024 on establishing the Reform and Growth Facility for the Western Balkans;

–The Regulation (EU) 2025/535 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 March 2025 establishing the Reform and Growth Facility for the Republic of Moldova.

Given the magnitude and unpredictability of the needs, reconstruction and pre-accession assistance for Ukraine will be financed above the MFF ceilings (the so-called ‘headroom’ of the MFF) and be implemented through Global Europe. Furthermore, humanitarian aid actions will be funded under Global Europe and implemented in line with the Humanitarian Aid Regulation 3 . Moreover, macro-financial assistance could be provided to countries experiencing balance of payments crises and will be funded under Global Europe. Global Europe will be the main instrument of the external heading, complemented by the association of the overseas countries and territories with the Union established by Council Decision (EU) 2021/1764 4 as well as the Common Foreign and Security Policy budget. Furthermore, the Instrument will be implemented in accordance with the horizontal Performance Regulation, as detailed in chapter 5 ‘Other elements’ of this document.

In a global context where the Union is confronted with high geopolitical and geoeconomic competition, marked by global challenges, ranging from climate change to tensions around scarce resources, continuing migratory pressure or economic and trade disruptions, in addition to security threats and fragility, external action has to continuously and rapidly react to emerging needs, as well as to act to advance strategic priorities, in order to effectively pursue the Union’s and partners’ priorities. The Instrument is built to combine the need of predictability with the need to adjust rapidly to an evolving geopolitical context.

Coherence and complementarity of action will be ensured, enhancing the geographisation principle introduced under NDICI-Global Europe. The internal architecture of the proposed Instrument follows this principle and is composed of five geographic pillars and a global pillar, each of which is composed of a programmable and non-programmable component. The Instrument will be implemented primarily through the five geographic programmable components, complemented by the geographic non-programmable components. The global pillar will focus on global initiatives and will be complementary to the geographic pillars. The six pillars are supported by an unallocated emerging challenges and priorities cushion, to increase flexibility as well as the ability of the Union to respond to unforeseen needs and adapt its partnerships to emerging priorities, building on the experience of the European Development Funds and NDICI-Global Europe.

The recent evaluation of the external instruments (2014-2020 and 2021-2027) 5 confirmed that the external financing instruments under the current MFF are largely fit for purpose and delivering against their objectives. Nevertheless, it noted that the changing geopolitical landscape has also exposed some architectural weaknesses in their design, in particular as regards their flexibility. On NDICI-Global Europe, the evaluation stressed that it could still better contribute to an integrated approach balancing EU interests, partnerships and values, further reconciling the objectives of the EU’s internal and external thematic policies. On IPA III, the above evaluation highlighted that the instrument's flexibility has been limited by the fact that annual planning has, through implementation, prevailed over strategic multi-annual programming. The lessons learned together with the increasing volatile geopolitical context have prompted the Commission to further simplify the architecture of the external financing instruments and provide more flexibility. The Global Europe proposal also preserves flexibilities already allowed under NDICI-Global Europe and IPA III, concerning carry-overs of funds Furthermore, reflows generated by financial instruments and surplus of budgetary guarantees will be available to be reused under this Instrument. Other elements enhancing flexibility are the possibility of adopting delegated acts, already foreseen under NDICI-Global Europe and the easier budgetary transfers between and within pillars under the architecture of Global Europe. Furthermore, the proposed instrument does not include thematic targets. A target on official development assistance spending is present in the Global Europe proposal.

•Consistency with existing policy provisions in the policy area

As mentioned above, the Global Europe proposal serves under one instrument a wide range of policies, namely the enlargement, neighbourhood, international partnerships and humanitarian aid policies, maintaining the specificities of each policy. This proposal provides an enabling framework through which external action policies and international commitments can be implemented. The main international commitments include the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development 6 , the Paris Agreement on Climate Change 7 , the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework 8 , the Addis Ababa Action Agenda 9 , the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (2015-2030) 10 , the Istanbul Convention on violence against women 11 and the Pact for the Future 12 . Within the EU, the policy framework includes the Treaty provisions on external action, association agreements, partnership and cooperation agreements, multilateral agreements to which the Union is a party, and other agreements that establish a legally binding relationship between the Union and partner countries as well as European Council conclusions, Council conclusions, summit declarations or conclusions of meetings with partner countries at the level of heads of state or government or ministers, European Parliament resolutions, communications of the Commission and joint communications with the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.

•Consistency with other Union policies

Consistency and complementarity will be ensured among the Union’s external financing instruments, in particular with Humanitarian aid (funded under Global Europe), the association of the overseas countries and territories with the Union, the Common Foreign and Security Policy and the European Peace Facility (which is financed outside the Union budget), as well as the European Instrument for International Nuclear Safety Cooperation- Decommissioning.

Global Europe will provide support aimed at credibly and effectively preparing candidate countries and potential candidates for future EU membership. The fulfilment of this ambition calls for aligning, to the extent possible, the design of pre-accession support under Global Europe with the orientations of relevant internal programmes.

Funding from Global Europe should also be used to foster the establishment of people-to-people partnerships based on common interests and intergenerational fairness and strengthen skills development, innovation and cultural diversity through cooperation in the fields of education, youth and research, in a way that is consistent with the Erasmus+ Regulation. Furthermore, in this framework, consistency and complementarity will also be ensured with trade and investment, economic cooperation, migration, security and other sectoral cooperation.

In particular, serving the new economic foreign policy and in synergy with the European Competitiveness Fund, the Instrument will enhance the Union’s competitiveness by responding to economic challenges and swiftly seize opportunities to support Union competitiveness, including via the support to the external dimension of Union internal policies. This will harness the potential of mutually beneficial partnerships for sustainable development in the Union and in partner countries alike.

Moreover, it will contribute to boost resilience and promote stability by addressing fragility in a humanitarian-development-peace nexus approach, balance of payment crises as well as post-conflict recovery and reconstruction needs.

2.LEGAL BASIS, SUBSIDIARITY AND PROPORTIONALITY

•Legal basis

Part Five, Title III, Chapters 1, 2 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, provides the legal framework for cooperation with partner countries.

This proposal is based on Articles 209, 212 and 322 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. It is presented by the Commission in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 294 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.

•Subsidiarity (for non-exclusive competence)

The EU’s external action financing seeks to cooperate with partner countries, as well as to promote multilateral solutions to global challenges. It enables the EU to defend its interests, to promote its values and standards, to support the objectives of its internal policies, ensure its security and protect its citizens. It should focus more on strengthening the Union’s competitiveness and reducing its dependencies, notably through securing critical supply chains. Moreover, it is in the EU’s own interest to preserve its role of a trusted global player.

The above-mentioned evaluation of the external instruments (2014-2020 and 2021-2027 MFFs) confirmed the added value that the external financing instruments bring to EU’s external relations, as they provide a more integrated and sizable offer to partner countries, improving their capacity to address shared priorities with the EU and contributing to sustainable development.

As a party to most multilateral processes, the EU can engage with multilateral and regional partners in key policy areas. Compared to its Member States acting separately, the EU, together with Member States, can achieve greater impact by coordinating common positions and speaking with a stronger voice. As a world’s leading proponent and defender of multilateral and rule-based global governance system, the EU has credibility as an honest broker and defender of core international human right instruments. This leverage in multilateral and regional fora also enables the Union to project globally its policies and values, as well as influence the shaping of global norms and regulatory standards. The EU’s financial commitment is an integral part of the overall engagement in several multilateral agreements (e.g. climate and biodiversity).

Through the increased use of budgetary guarantees, financial instruments and blending operations, the EU incentivises and pools together public and private investments, including to the benefit of countries and sectors having difficult access to financial markets, investments promoting economic resilience, and private sector development. EU non-action would widen the SDGs financing investment gap and further deteriorate the situation of fragile countries while weakening the EU as a geopolitical and geoeconomic actor and as global player in multilateral fora.

Finally, the EU triggers collaboration among development financial institutions. Macro-financial assistance provides much needed financing for countries experiencing balance of payments crises, with favourable conditions.

•Proportionality

In line with the principle of proportionality, the proposed Regulation does not go beyond what is necessary to achieve its objectives.

•Choice of the instrument

In accordance with Articles 209, 212 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, which set out the ordinary legislative procedure to be used to adopt measures for implementing cooperation with partner countries, the proposal takes the form of a Regulation, ensuring its uniform application, binding nature in its entirety and direct applicability. The legislative financial and digital statement enclosed with this proposal shows the budgetary implications and the human and administrative resources required.

3.RESULTS OF EX-POST EVALUATIONS, STAKEHOLDER CONSULTATIONS AND IMPACT ASSESSMENTS

•Ex-post evaluations/fitness checks of existing legislation

The mid-term evaluation of the external financing instruments under the 2021-2027 MFF concluded that they were largely fit for purpose and on track to delivery against their objectives they were expected to fulfil at the time of their adoption and these objectives continue to be relevant.

NDICI – Global Europe

The mid-term evaluation also noted that in the evolving geopolitical context, NDICI-Global Europe and its enhanced flexibility proved its relevance to pursue EU priorities as well as to provide support to partner countries notably in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine and the migratory pressures. It also enabled the EU to promote its internal policies and priorities in a more coherent manner towards the external world, while it needed to better contribute to an integrated approach balancing EU interests, partnerships and values. In terms of simplification gains, the mid-term evaluation stressed that NDICI-Global Europe provides a unified legal basis for a large share of the EU’s external interventions. By superseding a large number of the instruments of the past MFF, it had brought about a major increase in coherence and complementarity.

The mid-term evaluation mentioned that the various flexibility features in the NDICI-Global Europe had proved their relevance. However, the NDICI-Global Europe cushion had almost been depleted in the first three years of implementation, showing a mismatch between available funds and actual needs. Moreover, NDICI-Global Europe was not designed to support countries at war at the scale needed by Ukraine. Therefore, a new financing instrument, the Ukraine Facility was adopted for period 2024-27, to support Ukraine both in the face of Russia’s war of aggression and on Ukraine’s path towards EU membership. In general terms, the mid-term evaluation concluded that to better exploit windows of opportunity and maximise scope for EU leverage, differentiated response strategies may be required.

IPA III

The mid-term evaluation noted that IPA III had demonstrated its general effectiveness as a pre-accession instrument. The instrument was considered aligned with the new enlargement methodology, with the fundamentals of the EU accession process at the forefront. The mid-term evaluation also emphasised that IPA III had been effective in promoting socio-economic development and leveraging necessary investments under the Economic and Investment Plan, while there was a need to further accelerate convergence with the EU. The mid-term evaluation noted furthermore that while IPA III was designed as a performance-based instrument both in terms of scope and intensity of assistance, balancing the performance assessment with the fair share principle had limited the financial reward to well-performing beneficiaries.

The mid-term evaluation noted that IPA III had been flexible in responding to exceptional external events despite the lack of a similar cushion as in the NDICI-Global Europe instrument. The absence of pre-set country financial envelopes had provided the required flexibility to programme assistance according to urgent and evolving needs.

•Stakeholder consultation

For the mid-term evaluation and the impact assessment for this proposal, the consultation approach involved collecting input from a wide range of stakeholders on the external financing instruments. The open public consultations for both the mid-term evaluation and the impact assessment targeted all types of stakeholders, including citizens. The summary report on the results of the consultation carried out in the framework of the mid-term evaluation has been published on the “Have Your Say” website 13 and it provides an overview of the received contributions. The synopsis report of the open public consultation in view of the impact assessment for Global Europe can be found in Annex 2 of the impact assessment. A targeted consultation was also undertaken for the mid-term evaluation, to gather the views of specific categories of stakeholders. In the context of targeted consultations, EU Member States experts, development agencies of the EU Member States, civil society and local authorities’ networks and platforms, Development Financial Institutions, and the United Nations were consulted through dedicated meetings. The summary of these targeted consultations can be found in the synopsis report of the stakeholder consultation, in annex V of the the mid-term evaluation 14 .

•Collection and use of expertise

The mid-term evaluation report and associated staff working document were largely based on the independent study carried out by external consultants 15 . All five compulsory evaluation criteria (i.e. effectiveness, efficiency, relevance, coherence and the EU added value) were assessed in this study. The evaluation criteria of impact and sustainability were also covered. The evaluation methods used included: (i) a review of documentation and analytical data; (ii) more than 340 interviews(iii) a series of targeted surveys; (iv) targeted consultations and an open public consultation, as explained above. This mix of qualitative and quantitative methods, using both primary and secondary sources of evidence, provided a comprehensive evidence base for the evaluation. This expertise was also used as evidence base for the impact assessment of this proposal, together with the results of the open public consultations as explained above.

•Impact assessment

As regards the impact assessment accompanying this proposal, the Regulatory Scrutiny Board provided on 13 June 2025 its opinion without qualification, referring to the specific approach related to the MFF process 16 .. Following the Board’s opinion, the impact assessment was revised in order to integrate its recommendations.

The general objective of the impact assessment was to design external financing instruments that effectively advance the EU’s strategic interests while being responsive to fragility and crisis situations. In this respect, the balance between flexibility and predictability was the fundamental policy parameter for the design of possible policy options. The following options were examined in this context:

• Option 1: A fully flexible external financing instrument based exclusively on strategic priorities defined annually, with no multiannual planning. Ukraine-related support for pre-accession and reconstruction needs would be covered above MFF ceilings.

• Option 2: An external financing instrument based on indicative geographic and global envelopes covering programmable and non-programmable funding for multiannual planning, balancing flexibility and predictability. Ukraine-related support for pre-accession and reconstruction needs would be covered above the MFF ceilings.

• Option 3: An external financing instrument based on indicative geographic and global envelopes covering programmable and non-programmable funding for multiannual planning, balancing flexibility and predictability. Pre-accession needs for Ukraine would be covered by this instrument inside MFF ceilings while the reconstruction needs of Ukraine would be covered above the MFF ceilings.

Based on the analysis of impacts and comparison, Option 2 emerged as the preferred choice. The analysis of effectiveness, coherence and efficiency of the three options against the baseline was made by using the specific objectives of the impact assessment. Options 2 stood out due to its flexibility-predictability equilibrium that best supported these objectives, providing credible support to Ukraine in an uncertain context while protecting the external instrument’s ability to deliver on needs and priorities in other geographical areas.

In terms of expected impact, both Options 2 and 3 are more likely than Option 1 to support the promotion of EU strategic interests and the sustainable development of partner countries.

Options 2 and 3 would also likely better address the interlinkages between the different SDGs, balancing the three dimensions of sustainable development (economic, social, and environmental). They enhance coherence between internal and external policies on the one hand and between external policies on the other. The geographisation principle, including the use of regional envelopes under the geographic pillars, facilitates alignment with the EU's strategic goals (e.g. via Global Gateway, Comprehensive Partnerships, Clean Trade and Investment Partnerships, other similar partnerships). This alignment also allows for more coordinated efforts in addressing social, economic and environmental challenges, thus ensuring that policies are mutually reinforcing rather than working in silos or at unintended cross purposes. In this respect, Options 2 and 3 have the capacity to better integrate policy objectives like competitiveness, economic security, resilient value chains, and environmental sustainability, given that these goals are strategically pursued together.

As compared to Option 3, Option 2 would ensure continuity with the Ukraine Facility’s approach, address short, medium and long-term needs comprehensively, and cover the interlinkages between Ukraine’s accession path and post-war reconstruction. Furthermore, Option 2 would allow to strike a balance between providing credible support to Ukraine in an uncertain context while protecting the external instrument’s ability to deliver on needs and priorities in other geographical areas.

Building on these considerations, option 2 has been retained for this proposal.

•Regulatory fitness and simplification

The proposal provides a simplification from the REFIT point of view. Further streamlining a number of instruments within one broad instrument as detailed above will reduce financial and operational barriers that exist under current instruments. Simplification thus contributes to clearer processes and management of resources. In terms of aligning rules, horizontal provisions from the Performance Regulation will provide the new instrument and the other programmes under the MFF with a coherent and harmonised framework and will make it easier for partners and implementing agents to understand.

•Fundamental rights

One of the Treaty-based general objectives of the EU’s external action (Article 3(5) and Articles 8 and 21 TEU) is to support and promote democracy, the rule of law and respect for human rights. The Instrument aims to apply a human rights-based approach guided by the principles of ‘leaving no one behind’, equality and non-discrimination on any grounds. The rights-based approach encompasses all human rights, whether civil and political or economic, social and cultural in order to integrate human rights principles into all activities supported by EU external action. The support to Human Rights and Democracy, and to Civil Society Organisations, which was mostly channelled through dedicated thematic programmes in NDICI-Global Europe, remains a priority under the Instrument, channelled both through the geographic pillars to maximise impact and through the global pillar for global initiatives.

4.BUDGETARY IMPLICATIONS

The European Commission proposes to allocate an indicative financial envelope of EUR 200 309 000 000 (in current prices) to Global Europe for 2028-2034. Additionally, financial resources for Ukraine shall be made available in accordance with Article 6 of Council Regulation [(EU, Euratom) 20XX/XXX * [MFF Regulation]]. The detailed estimated financial impact of this proposal is presented in the legislative financial and digital statement enclosed with this proposal.

5.OTHER ELEMENTS

•Implementation plans and monitoring, evaluation and reporting arrangements

The Instrument should be implemented in accordance with the above-mentioned horizontal Performance Regulation for the entire MFF, which establishes the rules for the expenditure tracking and the performance framework for the budget, including rules for ensuring a uniform application of the principles of ‘do no significant harm’ and gender equality referred to in Article 33(2), points (d) and (f) of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509 17 (Financial Regulation) respectively, rules for monitoring and reporting on the performance of Union programmes and activities, rules for establishing a Single Gateway, rules for the evaluation of the programmes, as well as other horizontal provisions applicable to all Union programmes such as those on information, communication and visibility.

•Detailed explanation of the specific provisions of the proposal

The proposed Instrument (Global Europe) contains derogations from the provisions of the Financial Regulation, which are justified in several recitals, namely:

Recital 37 – on the non-establishment of a provisioning rate for loans to Ukraine under this Instrument.

Recital 64 – on the possibility to reuse Global Europe funds carried-over. Furthermore, the recital refers to the possibility to reuse under Global Europe, reflows generated by financial instruments.

Recital 65 – on the possibility to increase the resources available for Global Europe, by assigning to it the surpluses related to the current and legacy budgetary guarantees and financial assistance in the external action.

Recitals 68 and 69 – on the possibility to provide support in the form of grants in a flexible and timely manner without the need for a call for proposals, including to private sector entities from Member States.

Recital 81 – on the possibility to promote the participation of eligible entities or persons and counterparts from partner countries benefiting from the budgetary guarantee or financial instruments, and to increase the attractiveness for the private sector and maximise the impact of the investments by extending the eligibility for the budgetary guarantee to entities without a public service mission.

TITLE I: GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1 (Subject matter) - defines the Instrument created by the Regulation, which is one of the EU programmes for external action.

Article 2 (Definitions) - contains definitions of the basic terminology used in the Regulation.

Article 3 (Scope and structure) - describes the structure of the Instrument, composed of five geographic pillars and one global pillar. It clarifies the internal structure of the pillars, divided in programmable and non-programmable components, detailing the nature of non-programmable actions. The Article also establishes the geographic scope of each pillar and explains the complementarity of the pillars and of the components.

The countries and territories covered under the geographic pillars are listed in Annex I.

Article 4 (Objectives of the Instrument) - sets out the general objectives, applicable to all pillars of the Instrument, as well as the specific objectives detailed in Annex II.

Article 5 (Consistency, coherence, synergies and complementarity) - explains the relationship between this Instrument and all areas of external action, together with its synergy, consistency and complementarity with internal EU programmes.

Article 6 (Budget) - refers to the overall envelope for the Instrument and gives a detailed indicative breakdown by pillar and specifies the sources of support for Ukraine. It also refers to the ‘emerging challenges and priorities cushion’, which may increase the amounts referred to in the Article.

Article 7 (Emerging challenges and priorities cushion) - refers to the purposes of the emerging challenges and priorities cushion. A provision is included to inform the European Parliament and the Council on the use of the emerging challenges and priorities cushion and to take their observations into account.

Article 8 (Policy framework) - refers to the overall policy framework for the implementation of the Instrument. Existing agreements, strategies, conclusions, resolutions and other similar documents determine the policy on which implementation of the Instrument would be based. A provision is included to inform the European Parliament and the Council and have exchanges of views with them.

Article 9 (General principles) - lists the various principles applicable to the whole Instrument, such as focusing on transformational impact, catering for the strategic interests of the Union, keeping the Union’s engagement in extremely fragile and complex settings contexts, as well as promoting democracy, good governance, the rule of law, respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, gender equality, women and youth empowerment. The Article also underlines the importance of the development effectiveness principle and of the involvement and dialogue with civil society organisations and local authorities as well as the private sector.

Article 10 (Mainstreaming) – details how the fight against climate change, environment protection and gender equality should be mainstreamed in the implementation of the Instrument.

Article 11 (Team Europe Approach) - sets out the objective, the modalities and the ambition of the Team Europe approach, which aims to further coordinate the actions, and pooling resources for common goals.

Article 12 (Migration and forced displacement) - illustrates the comprehensive approach toward irregular migration, forced displacement and their root causes.

TITLE II – IMPLEMENTATION OF THE INSTRUMENT

Groups chapters related to the implementation of the Instrument, which includes the multiannual programming.

Chapter I — General programming provisions (Articles 13-17) covers the various provisions on multiannual programming, notably the general approach, principles for geographic programmes, the content of programming documents, and the procedure for adopting them.

Chapter II — Action plans, measures and implementing principles (Articles 18-22) illustrate the action plans and measures which can be adopted, and the respective procedures. Article 22 contains provisions on flexibilities.

Chapter III – Implementation toolbox (Article 23 - 28) covers the available tools to deliver against the objectives of the Instrument, notably budgetary guarantees, blending and financial assistance.

TITLE IV–- FINAL PROVISIONS

Title III (Articles 29-35). Article 30 of this Title covers the exercise of the delegation of powers, to amend Article 6(5), Article 24(1), (2) and (3) and Annex II. Article 31 illustrate the additional implementing rules for the Europe pillar. Article 32 sets up the committee, pursuant to Regulation (EU) No 182/2011. That committee is in charge of delivering an opinion on multiannual programming documents and annual work programmes (action plans and measures). The proposal has two annexes, as follows:

- Annex I — List of countries and territories

- Annex II — Specific objectives

2025/0227 (COD)

Proposal for a

REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL

establishing Global Europe

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular Articles 209 and 212, and Article 322(1) thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission,

After transmission of the draft legislative act to the national parliaments,

Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee 18 ,

Having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions 19 ,

Having regard to the opinion of the Court of Auditors,

Acting in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure,

Whereas:

(1)This Regulation aims at establishing the programme Global Europe (the ‘Instrument’) with a view to upholding and promoting the Union’s values, principles and interests worldwide in order to pursue the objectives and principles of the Union’s external action, as laid down in Article 3(5) and Articles 8 and 21 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU).

(2)In accordance with Article 21 TEU, the Union is to ensure consistency between the different areas of its external action and between these and its other policies, as well as to work for a high degree of cooperation in all fields of international relations. To increase coherence and ensure the effectiveness of the Union’s external action, the Instrument should serve a wide range of Union policies, in particular the enlargement, neighbourhood, international partnerships, humanitarian aid policies, and the external aspects of its other policies, fostered through a broad array of tools.

(3)In accordance with Article 9 of Council Decision 2010/427/EU 20 , the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy (the ‘High Representative’), in its capacity of Vice-President of the Commission, shall ensure the overall political coordination of the Union’s external action, ensuring its unity, consistency and effectiveness, in particular through the implementation of the present Instrument.

(4)The implementation of the Instrument should be guided by the Strategic Agendas of the European Council, relevant European Parliament resolutions and the Political Guidelines of the Commission, which set the Union’s vision, strategic orientations and priorities. While leveraging the Union’s power and partnerships, the external action implemented under the Instrument should protect and promote Union values, strengthen peace and security and bolster preparedness, prosperity and competitiveness of the Union. To advance the Union’s priorities and interests in its external action, the Union should work in partnership with partner countries and international organisations.

(5)The Instrument should contribute to ensuring consistency, coherence, synergies and complementarity between the Union’s internal and external policies and between its external policies in order to simultaneously promote the Union’s fundamental and strategic interests and sustainable development in partner countries and support the achievement of its global commitments.

(6)The main approach for actions financed under the Instrument should be through geographic programmable actions at country, multi-country, regional and trans-regional level, in order to maximise the impact of the Union’s assistance. That approach should be complemented, where relevant, by non-programmable geographic actions, including actions concerning humanitarian aid, macro-financial assistance, addressing crisis, peace and foreign policy needs, and enhancing resilience and competitiveness, as well as global programmable and non-programmable actions.

(7)Geographic programmable actions should frame the Union’s cooperation with partner countries and regions in the medium and long-term to build mutually beneficial partnerships.

(8)While the budget to finance the Union’s humanitarian aid operations should be made available under this Instrument, such operations should be implemented in accordance with the Humanitarian Aid Instrument established by Council Regulation (EC) No 1257/96 21 .

(9)While the budgetary resources to finance the Union’s macro-financial assistance should be made available under this Instrument, such operations should be implemented as per Article 212 and Article 213 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union TFEU.

(10)

(11)Resilience actions should enable the Union to step up its cooperation where needed in light of the volatility of the external context. They should be flexible including in responding to and reinforcing actions addressing fragility, crisis and supporting the humanitarian-development-peace nexus, address post-conflict recovery and reconstruction needs as well as balance of payment crises.

(12)Competitiveness actions should enable the Union to respond to economic challenges and swiftly seize opportunities to support Union competitiveness, including via the support to the external dimension of Union internal policies. Where relevant, they should contribute to building comprehensive mutually beneficial packages with partner countries.

(13)Crisis, peace and foreign policy needs should include actions allowing the Union to respond to exceptional and unforeseen situations or imperative foreign policy interest, including where there is a threat to peace, democracy, law and order, the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms. Those actions should be designed for an effective, efficient, integrated and conflict-sensitive Union response to achieve peace, stability and conflict-prevention in situations of urgency, crisis, fragility, hybrid threats, emerging crisis or natural disasters including the security and safety of individuals, in particular those exposed to sexual and gender-based violence, in situations of instability; or threatening to escalate into armed conflict or to severely destabilise the partner country or countries concerned. They should also support innovative initiatives to address foreign policy needs across political, economic and security issues and enable the Union to act where there is a window of opportunity to achieve its objectives, which are difficult to address by other means.

(14)The Instrument should build on the actions previously supported under Regulations of the European Parliament and of the Council (EU) 2021/947 22 , (EU) 2021/1529 23 , (EU) 2024/792 24 , (EU) 2024/1449 25 , (EU) 2025/535 26 .

(15)The Instrument should contribute to the objectives of the Union’s external action, by promoting mutually beneficial partnerships with partner countries, contributing simultaneously to the sustainable development of partner countries and to the Union’s strategic interests. It should allow the Union to be better positioned to address global challenges, including the fight against climate change and biodiversity protection. It should also provide increased economic and trade opportunities to the mutual benefit of the Union and partner countries.

(16)Union action should promote respect for and be rooted in international human rights law, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on 10 December 1948, and in international humanitarian law, and should be guided by the universality and indivisibility of human rights.

(17)Article 49 TEU provides that any European state that respects the values of respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law, as well as respect for human rights, including the rights of persons belonging to minorities, and is committed to promoting those values may apply to become a member of the Union. Those values are common to Member States in a society in which pluralism, non-discrimination, tolerance, justice, solidarity, equality between women and men, intergenerational fairness and cultural diversity prevail. The enlargement process is built on established criteria, fair and rigorous conditionality and the principle of own merits. A European state which has applied to join the Union can become a member of the Union only when it has been confirmed that it fully meets the accession criteria established at the Copenhagen European Council in June 1993 (the ‘Copenhagen criteria’) and provided that the Union has the capacity to integrate the new member. A firm commitment to ‘fundamentals first’ approach, which requires a strong focus on the rule of law, the fight against organised crime, fundamental rights, the functioning of democratic institutions and public administration reform, as well as on economic criteria, remains essential. Progress depends on each candidate country’s and potential candidate’s implementation of the necessary reforms to align with the Union acquis.

(18)The enlargement policy of the Union is a strategic investment in peace, security, stability and prosperity in Europe and allows the Union to be better positioned to address global challenges. It also provides increased economic and trade opportunities to the mutual benefit of the Union and the aspiring Member States, while ensuring a gradual transformation of the partner countries. The prospect of Union membership has a powerful transformative effect, embedding positive democratic, political, economic and societal change. It is in the common interest of the Union and its partners to advance efforts to reform their political, legal and economic systems with a view to their future Union membership and to support their accession process.

(19)Since the beginning of Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified war of aggression against Ukraine on 24 February 2022, the Union, its Member States and European financial institutions have mobilised unprecedented support for Ukraine’s economic, social and financial resilience. The scale of damage caused to Ukraine requires significant and flexible support to Ukraine to maintain functions of its government, provide public services, as well as to support the recovery, reconstruction and modernisation of the country. The Instrument should provide the framework for assistance for the fast recovery, reconstruction and modernisation of the country, to mobilise investments and enhance access to finance, as well as to facilitate Ukraine’s alignment with Union standards and values on its way to accession to the Union. Ukraine’s path towards accession should be closely intertwined with reconstruction efforts. Support under the Instrument should, to the extent possible, be integrated into international efforts towards a financial architecture for the recovery of Ukraine and be coordinated with relevant donors and international financial institutions to ensure proper coordination and complementarity of support.

(20)In accordance with Article 8(1) TEU, the Union is to develop a special relationship with neighbouring countries, aiming to establish an area of prosperity and good neighbourliness, founded on the values of the Union and characterised by close and peaceful relations based on cooperation.

(21)The Union should conclude mutually beneficial and tailored partnerships focusing on strategic priorities and fostering regional cooperation in the Neighbourhood East, including the Black Sea region and helping mitigate challenges posed by Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine.

(22)The Union should develop a more focused approach to the Middle East, North Africa and the Gulf, taking into account the inter-relations among these regions. It should deepen relations with the Middle East, North Africa and Gulf regions, in line with the respective strategic frameworks and formal agreements, in particular through mutually beneficial and tailored partnerships in areas of mutual interests, respecting the values and principles of the Union.

(23)The Union’s international partnerships aim at developing relations and build partnerships with partner countries, notably to reduce and, in the long term, eradicate poverty in line with the primary objective of the Union’s development cooperation policy set out in Article 208 TFEU. The Union’s international partnerships also contribute to other objectives of the Union’s external action, in particular to the safeguarding of the Union’s values and fundamental interests, to foster the sustainable economic, social and environmental development of partner countries.

(24)The implementation of the Instrument should support the Global Gateway strategy 27 , the Union’s external investment strategy to advance the sustainable development goals together with partner countries. As a main pillar of the Union’s economic foreign policy, it aims at boosting the development of secure and quality infrastructure in partner countries to create sustainable prosperity, decent jobs, thereby strengthening connections between the Union and its partners, while also benefiting the EU strategic and economic interests. This strategy leverages investments in secure infrastructure with a focus on digitalisation, climate and energy, transport, health, and education and research. It supports countries which seek to enhance their resilience in a sustainable manner, while strengthening partnerships that are important for the Union’s open strategic autonomy. Global Gateway is also a value-based offer that promotes high social, environmental, governance and financial standards, and upholds democracy, the rule of law and human rights.

(25)The Union should engage in contexts experiencing extremely high levels of fragility, conflict areas, and other complex settings, supporting them through a differentiated approach to address the root causes of fragility while providing access to basic services and promoting the resilience of populations, along the humanitarian-development-peace nexus.

(26)The Instrument should contribute to preserving peace, preventing conflicts and strengthening international security. In line with the ProtectEU Strategy 28 , the Instrument should contribute to a coherent and comprehensive approach to security to enhance the Union’s security.

(27)The Instrument should strengthen democratic resilience in partner countries, including by countering foreign information manipulation and interference, empowering free and pluralistic media, promoting citizens’ engagement, ensuring the fairness and integrity of electoral and other democratic processes, and by engaging in public diplomacy activities.

(28)In accordance with the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 adopted at the Third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction on 18 March 2015 29 , recognition should be given to the need to move away from crisis response and containment to a more structural, long-term approach that more effectively addresses situations of fragility, natural and man-made disasters, and protracted crises. Greater emphasis and collective approaches are required on risk reduction, disaster risk management, early warning, prevention, mitigation and preparedness, and further efforts are required to enhance swift response and a durable recovery. This instrument should support reforms and investments that strengthen disaster risk and crisis management, invest in climate resilience, and enhance the resilience of vital societal functions. The Instrument should therefore contribute to strengthening the humanitarian-development-peace nexus.

(29)Since the objectives of this Regulation cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States but can be better achieved at Union level, the Union may adopt measures, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity as set out in Article 5 TEU. In accordance with the principle of proportionality as set out in that Article, this Regulation does not go beyond what is necessary in order to achieve those objectives.

(30)The Instrument should contribute to the collective Union objective of providing 0.7 % of gross national income as official development assistance (‘ODA’), established by the Development Assistance Committee of the OECD, within the timeframe of the 2030 Agenda adopted by the United Nations in September 2015 30 (the ‘2030 Agenda’), by supporting realistic and verifiable actions to meet this commitment, on which progress should continue to be monitored and reported. It should also promote mutually beneficial partnerships for sustainable development, including through the mobilisation of private resources. The whole support of the Instrument to sustainable development – including the mobilised private finance - should be monitored through the Total Official Support for Sustainable Development.

(31)The Instrument should contribute to the Union collective target of reaching 0.2 % of gross national income as ODA to least developed countries within the timeframe of the 2030 Agenda, by supporting realistic, verifiable actions to meet this commitment, on which progress should continue to be monitored and reported.

(32)The Instrument should enhance the Union’s competitiveness, in particular by contributing to the sustainability, resilience and diversification of value and supply chains, reflecting high standards of responsible business practice, and by increasing economic opportunities. Consistency between the implementation of the Union’s trade, economic security, and industrial policies and the Instrument should be ensured, including synergies with Clean Trade and Investment Partnerships. In particular, in order to harness the potential of mutually beneficial partnerships for sustainable development in the Union and partner countries, synergies should be fostered between the Instrument and the Union’s European Competitiveness Fund, established by Regulation (EU) [XXX] by the European Parliament and Council 31 , as well as the Connecting Europe Facility, established by Regulation (EU) [XXX] by the European Parliament and Council 32 , in supporting projects of common interest between Member States and partner countries, for the part of the project on the territory of the partner country.

(33)Complementarity should be ensured among the Union’s external financing instruments, in particular with Council Decision (EU) 2021/1764 33 on the association of the overseas countries and territories with the Union, the European Instrument for International Nuclear Safety Cooperation - Decommissioning established by Council Regulation (Euratom) [XXX] [INSC-D] 34 , the common foreign and security policy including, where relevant, the Common Security and Defence Policy, and the European Peace Facility, established by Council Decision (CFSP) 2015/509 35 , which is financed outside the Union budget.

(34)The Union should seek the most efficient use of available resources among its financing instruments. In this respect, the Instrument should allow for both contributions to and from other Union programmes, as well as the combination of funding with them. This should contribute to the Union’s priorities and interests as well as to sustainable development in the Union’s partner countries. This includes coherence and complementarity with macro-financial assistance, where relevant.

(35)This Regulation should lay down an indicative financial envelope for the Instrument. For the purpose of this Regulation, current prices are calculated by applying a fixed 2% deflator.

(36)In a rapidly changing economic, social and geopolitical environment, recent experience has shown the need for a more flexible multiannual financial framework and Union spending programmes. To that effect, and in line with the objectives of this Regulation, the funding should duly consider the evolving policy needs and Union’s priorities as identified in relevant documents published by the Commission, in Council conclusions and European Parliament resolutions while ensuring sufficient predictability for the budget implementation.

(37)Council Regulation (EU, Euratom) …/… 36 (MFF Regulation) allows to mobilise the necessary appropriations in the Union budget over and above the ceilings of the multiannual financial framework to honour the debt liabilities of the Union related to the loans to Ukraine. This financially enables the authorisation under this Regulation of financial assistance to Ukraine in the form of loans in accordance with Article 223(1) of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509 37 .

(38)In view of the budgetary coverage under the Regulation (EU, Euratom) …/… (MFF Regulation), it is appropriate not to reduce the maximum amount of the aggregate Union financial liabilities covering budgetary guarantees and financial assistance in the form of loans under this Regulation by the amount of financial assistance in the form of loans provided to Ukraine under this Regulation. It is also appropriate not to establish provisioning and, by way of derogation from Article 214(1) of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509, not to set a provisioning rate for loans to Ukraine under this Instrument.

(39)As for Union support to Ukraine other than in the form of loans, this Regulation should be financed by the (Ukraine Reserve) as provided for in the Council Regulation [(EU, Euratom) 20XX/XXX * [MFF Regulation] for the period from 1 January 2028 to 31 December 2034. The commitment appropriations and corresponding payment appropriations from the (Ukraine Reserve) should be mobilised annually through the budget procedure. Additionally, it should be possible to use appropriations mobilised for the purposes of this Regulation from the reserve referred to in Article 6 of Regulation Council Regulation [(EU, Euratom) 20XX/XXX * [MFF Regulation] ) to provide support to Ukraine under Regulation (Euratom) […] (INSC-D).

(40)In the framework of the Union’s restrictive measures, adopted on the basis of Article 29 TEU and 215(2) TFEU, no funds or economic resources may be made available, directly or indirectly, to or for the benefit of designated natural or legal persons, entities or bodies. Therefore, such natural or legal persons, entities or bodies, as well as legal persons, entities or bodies owned or controlled by them should not be supported by the Instrument.

(41)In a global context where the Union is confronted with high geopolitical and geoeconomic competition, marked by global challenges, ranging from climate change and biodiversity loss to tensions around scarce resources, technological dependencies, continuing migratory pressure or economic and trade disruptions, in addition to security threats and fragility, external action has to continuously and rapidly react to emerging needs, as well as to act to advance strategic priorities, in order to effectively pursue the Union’s and partners’ priorities. To increase the ability of the Union to respond to unforeseen needs and adapt its partnerships to emerging priorities, building on the experience of the European Development Funds and Regulation (EU) 2021/947, an amount should be left unallocated as an emerging challenges and priorities cushion. It should be mobilised in accordance with the procedures established in this Regulation.

(42)The overall context for action should be the pursuit of a rules-based and value-based global order, with multilateralism as its key principle and the United Nations (UN) at its core. The 2030 Agenda, together with the Paris Agreement adopted under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change 38 (the ‘Paris Agreement’), the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework 39 , the Addis Ababa Action Agenda of the Third International Conference on Financing for Development 40 and the Pact for the Future 41 , is the international community’s response to global challenges and trends in relation to sustainable development. The Instrument should pay particular attention to interlinkages between sustainable development goals and to integrated actions that can create co-benefits and meet multiple objectives in a coherent way.

(43)The Instrument should support the implementation of the Samoa Partnership Agreement between the Union and its Member States, of the one part, and the Members of the Organisation of the African, Caribbean and Pacific States, of the other part 42 , signed in Samoa on 15 November 2023 and provisionally applied as from 1 January 2024. The Instrument should also support the continuation of the established cooperation between the Union and these specific regions, for example with the African Union in line with the EU-AU joint vision for 2030.

(44)The Union should ensure policy coherence for development as required by Article 208 TFEU. The Union should take account of the objectives of development cooperation in the Union policies that are likely to affect developing countries and territories. Ensuring policy coherence for sustainable development requires taking into account the impact of all Union policies on sustainable development at all levels — nationally, within the Union, in other countries and at global level.

(45)In accordance with its international commitments, the Union should apply the development effectiveness principles, namely ownership of development priorities by developing countries and territories, a focus on results, inclusive development partnerships, transparency and mutual accountability. In that regard, the Union and its Member States should maximise the value added of their collective assistance for partner countries and regions. The implementation of the Instrument should be guided by its expected results namely outputs, outcomes and impacts.

(46)The Union should foster close consultation with local authorities and civil society, as well as support their participation in contributing to sustainable development and to the implementation of the sustainable development goals at local level. The Union should also support an enabling environment for civil society, in which these organisations can carry out their work effectively. The Instrument should provide Union support to civil society organisations and local authorities in order to pursue the values, interests and objectives of the Union. Civil society organisations and local authorities should be duly consulted and have timely access to relevant information allowing them to be adequately engaged.

(47)The implementation of the Instrument should be guided by the principles of gender equality, women and girls’ empowerment and of preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence and should seek to protect and promote women’s rights in line with the Roadmap on Women’s Rights 43 , Gender Equality Strategy 44 , EU Gender Action Plans, relevant Council conclusions and international conventions, including the Istanbul Convention on violence against women 45 . Strengthening gender equality and women’s empowerment in the Union’s external action and increasing efforts to reach the minimum standards of performance indicated by the EU Gender Action Plans should lead to a gender sensitive and transformative approach in all Union external action and international cooperation. Gender equality and women’s and girls’ empowerment should be mainstreamed under the Instrument and adequately reflected across all the actions.

(48)The Instrument should support children and youth as key agents of change, giving particular attention to their needs and empowerment. It should seek to prevent and combat discrimination-based on age, ethnic origin, religion and belief, disability or sexual orientation. It should promote the rights of persons with disabilities, in line with the UN Convention to the Rights of Persons with Disabilities 46 .

(49)Recognising that the triple planetary crisis of climate, biodiversity loss and pollution have worsened over the last decade and cannot be solved by the Union alone, by supporting international cooperation the Instrument should play an essential role to meet multilaterally agreed climate and environmental goals. In that regard, the Union should support the most vulnerable countries, in particular the small island developing states and the least developed countries.

(50)Reflecting the importance of tackling climate change in line with the Union’s commitments to implement the Paris Agreement and the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and to achieve the sustainable development goals, the Instrument should contribute to mainstreaming climate action in the Union policies. Relevant actions should be identified during the implementation of the Instrument, and the overall contribution from the Instrument should be part of relevant monitoring evaluations and review processes. The Instrument should contribute to halting and reversing the decline of biodiversity building on the interlinkages between climate and biodiversity goals.

(51)Union action in the area of climate change and biodiversity should support a just transition to a climate-neutral, climate resilient, resource efficient and circular economy. It should notably favour the adherence to and implementation of the Paris Agreement, the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, the UN Convention to Combat Desertification and the Agreement on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction. In particular, funding allocated in the context of the Instrument should be coherent with and support the long-term temperature goal of the Paris Agreement of limiting the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels while pursuing efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C. The Instrument should be coherent with the objective to increase the ability to adapt to the adverse effects of climate change, reduce vulnerability, foster climate resilience and align with the objectives of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. In line with the European Ocean Pact 47 , the Instrument should promote the preservation of the ocean and strengthen international rules-based ocean governance. Particular attention should be given to actions that create co-benefits and meet multiple objectives, including for climate, biodiversity and the environment.

(52)Article 33(2), point (d), of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509 requires programmes and activities to be implemented, where feasible and appropriate, without doing significant harm to the environmental objectives set out in Article 9 of Regulation (EU) 2020/852 48 (the ‘do no significant harm principle’). To ensure a consistent implementation of that principle throughout the budget, the Instrument should apply the do no significant harm principle in line with the common rules established by Regulation (EU, Euratom) [XXX] of the European Parliament and Council [Performance Regulation] and following the single technical guidance ('do no significant harm guidance'),

(53)The Instrument should promote digital cooperation with partner countries and their digital transition, in line with the International Digital Strategy for the European Union 49 and the Competitiveness Compass 50 .

(54)In accordance with Article 210 TFEU, the Union and its Member States should increase their collective impact by bringing together to the fullest possible range their respective resources and capacities.

(55)The Union’s and Member States’ international cooperation policies should operate in a Team Europe approach 51 , thereby complementing and reinforcing each other to improve the effectiveness, impact and value added of their collective assistance.

(56)The Union, its Member States, Member States’ implementing agencies and financial institutions, including development finance institutions and Member States export credit agencies, the European Investment Bank (the ‘EIB’) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (the ‘EBRD’) should seek to support partner countries and Union strategic interests outside the Union through jointly identified and implemented actions. This approach should be inclusive and open to like-minded partners and stakeholders to pool resources and jointly contribute to the achievement of common goals including through the use of the budgetary guarantee and blending.

(57)The Union should favour a constructive engagement on all aspects of migration and forced displacement, working to ensure that migration takes place in a safe and well-regulated manner and support is provided to forcibly displaced people and their host communities. It is essential to further step up cooperation on migration with partner countries while respecting competences of Member States, reaping the benefits of orderly, safe, regular and responsible migration and effectively addressing irregular migration. Such cooperation should contribute to mitigating the impact of forced displacement, ensuring access to international protection, addressing the root causes of irregular migration and of forced displacement, enhancing border management and pursuing efforts to prevent irregular migration, fighting against trafficking in human beings and migrant smuggling, and working on dignified and sustainable returns, readmission and reintegration where relevant, on the basis of mutual accountability and full respect of humanitarian and human rights obligations under international and Union law, and by engaging with diasporas and supporting legal migration pathways. Therefore, partner countries’ effective cooperation with the Union in this area should be an integral element of the Instrument. Increased coherence between migration, asylum, return and external policies is important to ensure that the Union’s external assistance supports partner countries to manage migration more effectively towards sustainable development. The Instrument should contribute to a coordinated, holistic and structured approach to migration, maximising synergies and applying the necessary leverage.

(58)The Instrument should enable the Union, in cooperation with Member States, to comprehensively respond to challenges, needs and opportunities related to migration and forced displacement in a way that is coherent with and complementary to Union migration and asylum policy. Migration-related actions under the Instrument should contribute to the effective implementation of Union agreements and dialogues on migration with partner countries by encouraging cooperation relying on a flexible incitative approach and supported by a coordination mechanism under the Instrument. The coordination mechanism should enable ongoing and emerging migration and forced displacement challenges to be addressed under the Instrument, using all appropriate components through flexible funding, while respecting its financial envelopes and relying on their flexible implementation. Those actions should be implemented in full respect of international law, including international human rights, international humanitarian law and refugee law, and Union and national competences.

(59)Under the Instrument, the Union should address human rights and democratic governance at all levels, including through election observation missions, in line with the EU Action Plan on Human Rights and Democracy 52 . Where relevant, Union assistance in areas pertaining to the protection of human rights and democratic values and principles and support to civil society actors should be independent from the consent of the governments and public authorities of the partner countries concerned. As the respect for democracy, human rights and the rule of law is essential for sound financial management and effective Union funding as referred to in Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509, assistance could be suspended in the event of degradation in democracy, human rights or the rule of law in third countries.

(60)Funding under the Instrument should be used to finance actions for the international dimension of the Erasmus+ programme, including in line with the Union of Skills 53 . The multiannual programming of the international dimension of Erasmus+ under this Instrument should be implemented in accordance with the procedures established in Regulation (EU) [XXX] of the European Parliament and Council [Erasmus+ Regulation] 54 .

(61)The Instrument should contribute to foster international cultural relations and recognise the role of culture in promoting the Union’s values.

(62)Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509 applies to this Instrument. It lays down the rules on the establishment and the implementation of the general budget of the European Union, including the rules on grants, prizes, non-financial donations, procurement, indirect management, financial assistance, financial instruments and budgetary guarantees.

(63)Annual or multi-annual action plans and measures referred to in this Regulation should constitute work programmes within the meaning of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509. Annual or multi-annual action plans should consist of a set of measures grouped into one document.

(64)Rules on effective establishment or nationality, or the type of participants in award procedures, including with respect to their direct and indirect control by entities of a partner country, as well as the origin of products may be restricted, including where such restrictions are in the strategic interests of the Union. Such restrictions could, for example, apply to high-risk suppliers, where relevant.

(65)While respecting the principle that the Union budget is set annually, external volatility requires to preserve the flexibilities already allowed under Regulation (EU) 2021/947 concerning carry-overs. By way of derogation from Article 12(4) of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509, to ensure the efficient use of the Union funds both for Union citizens and the partner countries, thus maximising the Union funds available for the Union’s external action interventions, carry-overs stemming from the Instrument should be available to be reused under this Instrument. By way of derogation from Article 212(3) of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509, revenue, repayments and recoveries from financial instruments established by external action programmes under this or preceding multiannual financial frameworks should be available to be reused under this Instrument. This will make available the necessary resources to fund the most pressing additional needs of the EU’s external relations of the moment.

(66)To increase the resources available for the Instrument by assigning to it the surpluses related to the Guarantee Fund for external actions established by Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 480/2009, the European Fund for Sustainable Development (EFSD) established by Regulation (EU) 2017/1601 55 , the European Fund for Sustainable Development Plus (EFSD+) established by Regulation (EU) 2021/947, the Ukraine Guarantee established by Regulation (EU) 2024/792, the financial assistance in the form of loans established under Regulations (EU) 2024/1449, and (EU) 2025/535, and the budgetary guarantee and financial assistance under this Instrument, derogations from Article 216(4), point (a), of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509 and from Article 31(8) of Regulation (EU) 2021/947 are is required. This will make available the necessary resources to fund the most pressing additional needs of the EU’s external relations of the moment.

(67)To ensure flexibility, Article 114(2), third subparagraph of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509 should not apply to the multiannual actions under this Instrument.

(68)The types of financing and the methods of implementation under this Regulation should be chosen on the basis of their ability to achieve the specific objectives of the actions and to deliver results, taking into account, in particular, the costs of controls, the administrative burden and the expected risk of non-compliance. When making that choice, the use of lump sums, unit costs and flat rates, as well as financing not linked to costs of the relevant operation as referred to in Article 125(1), point (a), of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509, should be considered. The Union should be able to entrust budget implementation tasks under Article 62(1), point (c) (viii) of Regulation (EU) 2024/2509 to the Union Institute for Security Studies and the European Security and Defence College to implement actions under the Instrument.

(69)By way of derogation from Article 192(1) of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509, the Union should be able to provide support in the form of grants in a flexible and timely manner without the need for a call for proposals, for example, in difficult conditions and cases of urgency and crisis, to support human rights defenders and other civil society actors. Under the conditions set out in Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509, grants funded by the Instrument could also be provided to civil society organisations and other entities which do not have legal personality under the applicable national law.

(70)Without prejudice to the use of competitive procedures wherever appropriate in accordance with Article 192(1) of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509, grants could be provided to entities governed by private law from a Member State without a call for proposals where the relevant project is in the strategic interest of the Union and supports the objectives of the Instrument. Such a direct award could be justified, for example, to enable investments or finance feasibility studies in strategic areas such as critical raw materials, climate change resilience or digital and other infrastructure, in particular as part of integrated packages, to enhance the Union’s strategic autonomy. In accordance with Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509, any such award should respect the general principles applicable to grants and be duly justified in the award decision.

(71)In line with the Team Europe approach, actions in indirect management should preferably be entrusted to the EIB, the EBRD, or a Member State organisation in the sense of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509.

(72)In indirect management with partner countries or the bodies they designate where the Commission retains financial management responsibilities in accordance with Article 157(7), second subparagraph, point (a), of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509, the Commission, when making payments on behalf of the contracting authorities directly to their recipients should be able to subsequently recover related amounts due directly from the contracting authorities' recipients. Likewise, in cases of indirect management where the partner countries or the bodies they designate do not or become unable to perform the budget implementation tasks entrusted, the Commission should be able to temporarily take their place and act in their name and on their behalf in indirect management.

(73)Pursuant to Article 85(1) of Council Decision (EU) 2021/1764, persons and entities established in overseas countries and territories are eligible for funding subject to the rules and objectives of the Instrument and possible arrangements applicable to the Member State to which the relevant overseas country or territory is linked. In order to reinforce the effectiveness and impact of the Union's action, cooperation between the partner countries and regions, the overseas countries and territories as well as the Union outermost regions under Article 349 TFEU should be encouraged in areas of common interest.

(74)The Instrument should enable the provision of support in the form of budgetary guarantees and financial assistance. The provisioning and liabilities arising from those operations and the financial assistance should be supported by appropriations under the Instrument.

(75)With a view to ensuring consistency, the budgetary guarantee and financial instruments, including when combined with non-repayable support in blending operations, and financial assistance under the Instrument should be implemented in accordance with Title X of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509 and with technical arrangements, terms and conditions established by the Commission for the purposes of its application.

(76)After the EFSD in 2017-2020 and the EFSD+ in 2021-2027, this is the third multiannual financial framework where a budgetary guarantee is used to support external actions. The budgetary guarantee has become a standard tool in the Union’s financial toolbox and its main rules and procedures are enshrined in Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509. Only specific provisions applicable to the budgetary guarantee under the Instrument are foreseen in this Regulation. On the other hand, recognising that the investments mobilised by the Union in partner countries may need a flexible use and combination of the various forms of Union’s funding available under the Instrument, no particular treatment of blending operations and the budgetary guarantee under a specific fund, such as EFSD or EFSD+, is foreseen.

(77)To provide for predictability and flexibility, it is necessary to set a maximum amount of the budgetary guarantee and the maximum amount of the aggregate Union financial liabilities covering the budgetary guarantee and financial assistance in the form of loans under the Instrument.

(78)In accordance with Article 214(1) of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509, this Regulation should provide for the review of the provisioning rates. It should therefore be possible to amend the provisioning rates throughout the multiannual financial framework period following regular review, which should be based on the Commission’s risk management framework taking into account sound financial management.

(79)To comply with the requirements of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509, this Regulation should set out the possibility for third parties and partner countries to contribute to the budgetary guarantee.

(80)It should be possible that the budgetary guarantee authorised under this Regulation serves as a horizontal delivery tool also for Council Decision (EU) 2021/1764 and Regulation (Euratom) [XXX] [INSC-D], to provide support under other Union programmes in accordance with the objectives and eligibility criteria set out in those programmes. For that purpose, the corresponding provisioning of financial liabilities should be made from the financial envelope of those other programmes.

(81)To ensure sound financial management and budgetary discipline and to limit outstanding payments, the provisioning for the budgetary guarantee and financial assistance should not be committed after the end of the last year of the multiannual financial framework and should be constituted by the end of the third year after the end of the multiannual financial framework. Budgetary commitments for that provisioning should take into account the progress in granting the budgetary guarantee and financial assistance. The constitution of the provisioning should take into account the progress in the approval and signature of the financing and investment operations and in the disbursement of the financial assistance.

(82)In order to promote the participation of eligible implementing entities and counterparts from partner countries benefiting from the budgetary guarantee or financial instruments, by way of derogation from Article 211(5) of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509, the partner country should not be required to contribute to the budgetary guarantee or the financial instruments. Moreover, in order to provide flexibility, increase the attractiveness for the private sector and maximise the impact of the investments, a derogation from Article 62(1), point (c) and Article 211(5) of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509, should be provided allowing bodies subject to private law which provide adequate assurance of their financial capacity and which are neither entrusted with a public service mission nor with the implementation of a public-private partnership to be eligible implementing entities and counterparts.

(83)Blending and budgetary guarantees play a central role in the Union’s investment strategy in partners countries. It is, therefore, appropriate to set up a Global Europe Investment Board to provide strategic and operational guidance to the Commission in their implementation.

(84)It is appropriate to organise the financial assistance under the diversified funding strategy provided for in Article 224 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509 and established as a single funding method therein, which is expected to enhance the liquidity of Union debt securities and the attractiveness and cost-effectiveness of Union issuance.

(85)The Commission could provide financial assistance to partners countries in the form of policy-based loans. The primary purpose of such policy-based loans should be to support partner country’s reform programmes and catalyse investments. They should contribute to achieving national policy goals and meeting global challenges. The conditions applicable to policy-based loans should, where relevant, be aligned to the conditions of budget support in accordance with Article 241(1) of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509. A debt analysis should be conducted prior to the approval of any loan. This analysis should assess the country's ability to sustain its debt levels over the loan term.

(86)In order to amend non-essential elements of this Regulation, the power to adopt acts in accordance with Article 290 TFEU should be delegated to the Commission in respect of amending the specific objectives listed in Annex II, the percentage of expenditure fulfilling the criteria of ODA, the maximum amounts of the budgetary guarantee and the provisioning rates. It is of particular importance that the Commission carries out appropriate consultations during its preparatory work, including at expert level, and that those consultations be conducted in accordance with the principles laid down in the Interinstitutional Agreement of 13 April 2016 on Better Law-Making 56 . In particular, to ensure equal participation in the preparation of delegated acts, the European Parliament and the Council receive all documents at the same time as Member States' experts, and their experts systematically have access to meetings of Commission expert groups dealing with the preparation of delegated acts.

(87)Cooperation with partner countries covered under the Europe pillar occurs in the context of a special relationship with the Union, including through, where relevant, the preparation of candidate countries and potential candidates for future accession. Such cooperation requires the establishment of specific conditions reflecting this highly ambitious relationship. For this purpose, relevant for Enlargement and Neighbourhood East partners in the Europe pillar, specific rules related to the relevant performance-based plans serving as a basis for programming should be established in line with the correspondingly high ambition of mutual relations between the partner countries and the Union. In order to ensure uniform conditions for the implementation of such engagement and for the implementation modalities that are designed to prepare for the management of internal funds, such as structural, agricultural and rural development and cross-border cooperation funds, including, where relevant, for indirect management by the partner countries, implementing powers should be conferred on the Commission. Those powers should be exercised in accordance with Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 February 2011 laying down the rules and general principles concerning mechanisms for control by the Member States of the Commission's exercise of implementing powers 57 . Those uniform conditions should be amended if developments so require.

(88)In the context of assistance provided to Enlargement and Neighbourhood East partners in the Europe pillar, cooperation should build on the lessons learned from the management and implementation of past assistance and performance-based facilities, including in relation to the relevant performance-based plans, conditionality linked to rule of law principles and human rights, performance, structures and control systems to be set up in preparation of accession. Where relevant, financial assistance in the form of a policy-based loan may be provided to partner countries implementing performance-based plans.

(89)In order to ensure uniform conditions for the implementation of the Instrument through the relevant implementing acts, implementing powers should be conferred on the Commission. Those powers should be exercised in accordance with Regulation (EU) No 182/2011. The Commission may adopt immediately applicable implementing acts where, in duly justified cases relating to crises or immediate threats to peace, democracy, the rule of law, human rights or fundamental freedoms, imperative grounds of urgency so require.

(90)The Instrument should contribute to strengthening awareness, understanding and perception of the Union in a Team Europe approach in partner countries. The objective should be to position the Union as a reliable partner that is commensurate with the scale, scope and ambition of the Union’s political commitment and sustained investment. This should be achieved through impactful strategic communication, and in line with Regulation (EU, Euratom) [XXX] [Performance Regulation] 58 .

(91)The Instrument is to be implemented in accordance with Regulation (EU, Euratom) [XXX] [Performance Regulation] which establishes the rules for the expenditure tracking and the performance framework for the budget, including rules for ensuring a uniform application of the principles of ‘do no significant harm’ and gender equality referred to in Article 33(2), points (d) and (f), of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509 respectively, rules for monitoring and reporting on the performance of Union programmes and activities, rules for establishing a Union funding portal, rules for the evaluation of the programmes, rules for the evaluation of the programmes, as well as other horizontal provisions applicable to all Union programmes such as those on information, communication and visibility.

(92)The references to the Union’s external assistance instruments in Article 9 of Decision 2010/427/EU, which are the predecessors to the Instrument established by this Regulation, should be construed as references to this Regulation. The Commission should ensure that this Regulation is implemented in accordance with the role of the European External Action Service as provided in that Decision.

(93)In accordance with Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509, Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 883/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council 59 , Council Regulation (Euratom, EC) No 2988/95 60 , Council Regulation (Euratom, EC) No 2185/96 61 and Council Regulation (EU) 2017/1939 62 , the financial interests of the Union are to be protected through proportionate measures, including the prevention, detection, correction and investigation of irregularities and fraud, the recovery of funds lost, wrongly paid or incorrectly used and, where appropriate, the imposition of administrative sanctions. In particular, in accordance with Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 883/2013 and Regulation (Euratom, EC) No 2185/96, the European Anti-Fraud Office (‘OLAF’) may carry out investigations, including on-the-spot checks and inspections, with a view to establishing whether there has been fraud, corruption or any other illegal activity affecting the financial interests of the Union. In accordance with Regulation (EU) 2017/1939, the European Public Prosecutor's Office (‘EPPO’) may investigate and prosecute fraud and other illegal activities affecting the financial interests of the Union as provided for in Directive (EU) 2017/1371 of the European Parliament and of the Council 63 . In accordance with Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509, any person or entity receiving Union funds is to fully cooperate in the protection of the Union’s financial interests, to grant the necessary rights and access to the Commission, OLAF, the EPPO and the European Court of Auditors and to ensure that any third parties involved in the implementation of Union funds grant equivalent rights.

(94)This Instrument replaces the programmes established by Regulations (EU) 2021/947, (EU) 2021/1529, (EU) 2024/792, (EU) 2024/1449 and (EU) 2025/535.

HAVE ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Title I – General provisions

Article 1 – Subject matter

This Regulation establishes Global Europe (the ‘Instrument’).

It lays down the objectives of the Instrument, the budget for the period from 2028 to 2034, the forms of Union funding and the rules for providing such funding.

Article 2 – Definitions

For the purposes of this Regulation, the following definitions apply:

(1)‘country indicative programme’ means an indicative programme covering one partner country;

(2)‘multi-country indicative programme’ means an indicative programme covering more than one partner country;

(3)‘regional indicative programme’ means a multi-country indicative programme covering more than one partner country within the same geographic area as referred to in Article 3(1);

(4)‘trans-regional indicative programme’ means a multi-country indicative programme covering more than one partner country from different geographic areas as referred to in Article 3(1);

(5)‘acceding country’ means a country for which a treaty concerning its accession to the Union has been signed; for the purposes of this Regulation, references to candidate countries and potential candidates also include acceding countries;

(6)‘candidate countries and potential candidates’ means any of the following: the Republic of Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iceland, Kosovo 64 , Montenegro, the Republic of North Macedonia, the Republic of Serbia, the Republic of Türkiye, the Republic of Moldova, Ukraine, Georgia, and any other country that would be granted a candidate or potential candidate status by a European Council decision in the future;

(7)‘cross-border cooperation’ means cooperation between: (a) Member States, one or more partner countries along the external adjacent land and maritime borders of the Union; (b) two or more candidates or potential candidates covered under the Europe pillar as referred to in Article 3(1), point (a), of this Regulation.

(8)‘civil society organisation’ means a wide range of actors with multiple roles and mandates, which may vary over time and across institutions and countries, and includes all independent non-State, not-for-profit and non-violent structures, through which people organise the pursuit of shared objectives and ideals, including political, cultural, religious, environmental, social or economic,, and which operate at local, national, regional or international levels, and which comprise urban and rural, formal and informal organisations;

(9)‘local authority’ encompasses public institutions with legal personality, which are components of the State structure, below the level of central government, such as villages, municipalities, districts, counties, provinces or regions, which are accountable to citizens and usually composed of a deliberative or policy-making body, such as a council or assembly, and an executive body, such as a mayor or other executive officer, which are directly or indirectly elected or selected at local level;

(10)‘partner country’ means any non-EU country or territory;

(11)‘effectively established in a country or territory’ means that a legal entity has its statutory office, central administration or principal place of business in that country or territory. However, a legal entity having only its statutory office in such a country or territory must be engaged in an activity which has an effective and continuous link with the economy of that country or territory;

(12)‘jointly financed’ means that the total cost of an action is shared among several entities and the resources are pooled in such a way that it is no longer possible to identify the source of financing for any given activity undertaken as part of the action.

(13)‘developing countries and territories’, means ODA recipients as included in the list published by the Development Assistance Committee of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development.

Article 3 – Scope and structure

1. The Instrument shall consist of the following pillars:

(a)Europe;

(b)Middle East, North Africa and the Gulf;

(c)Sub-Saharan Africa;

(d)Asia and the Pacific;

(e)Americas and the Caribbean;

(f)Global.

Points (a) to (e) of the first subparagraph may cover any partner country listed in Annex I.

Point (f) of the first subparagraph may cover all partner countries as well as overseas countries and territories linked to a Member State as set out in Annex II to the TFEU.

2. The pillars referred to in paragraph 1, first subparagraph, points (a) to (e) shall encompass:

(a)programmable actions at country, multi-country, regional and trans-regional level;

(b)non-programmable actions at country, multi-country, regional and trans-regional level, through the following components:

(i) humanitarian aid;

(ii) macro-financial assistance;

(iii) resilience;

(iv) competitiveness;

(v) crisis, peace and foreign policy needs.

3. The pillar referred to in paragraph 1, first subparagraph, point (f) shall encompass:

(a)programmable actions at global level;

(b)non-programmable actions at global level, through the following components:

(i) humanitarian aid;

(ii) resilience;

(iii) competitiveness; and

(iv) crisis, peace and foreign policy needs.

4. Actions under the Instrument shall be implemented primarily under one or more of the pillars referred to in paragraph 1, first subparagraph, points (a) to (e).

Actions implemented under the pillar referred to in paragraph 1, first subparagraph, point (f), shall support global initiatives and be complementary to actions funded under paragraph 1, first subparagraph, points (a) to (e).

Non-programmable actions shall be complementary to programmable actions, and shall be designed and implemented to enable, where relevant, continuity under programmable actions.

5. Humanitarian aid actions funded under the Instrument shall be implemented pursuant to Regulation (EC) 1257/96.

Article 4 – Objectives of the Instrument

1.The general objectives of the Instrument are the following:

(a)to uphold and promote the Union’s values and interests worldwide, in order to pursue the objectives and principles of the Union’s external action, as laid down in Article 3(5) and Articles 8 and 21 TEU;

(b)to contribute to the promotion of multilateralism and a rules-based international order, the achievement of the international commitments and objectives that the Union has agreed to, in particular the sustainable development goals, the 2030 Agenda, the Paris Agreement and the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework;

(c)to promote stronger mutually beneficial partnerships with partner countries, contributing simultaneously to the sustainable development of partner countries and to the strategic interests of the Union.

2. The specific objectives of the Instrument are set out in Annex II.

The Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 30 to amend Annex II.

Article 5 – Consistency, coherence, synergies and complementarity

1. In implementing the Instrument, consistency, coherence, synergies and complementarity with all areas of Union external action, including other external financing instruments, and with other relevant Union policies and programmes, shall be ensured.

The Union shall strive to ensure policy coherence for sustainable development. It shall take into account the impact of all internal and external policies on sustainable development and shall promote increased synergies and complementarities, in particular with trade and investment, economic cooperation and other sectoral cooperation.

2. The Instrument may contribute to actions that are established and implemented under Regulations (EU) [XXX] [European Competitiveness Fund], (EU) [XXX] of the European Parliament and Council [Horizon Europe] 65 , and (EU) [XXX] [Connecting Europe Facility], when those actions are in line with Article 4 of this Regulation.

3. An action that has received a Union contribution from another programme may also receive a contribution under this Instrument. The rules of the relevant Union programme shall apply to the corresponding contribution, or a single set of rules may be applied to all contributions and a single legal commitment may be concluded. If the Union contribution is provided based on eligible cost, the cumulative support from the Union budget shall not exceed the total eligible costs of the action and may be calculated on a pro-rata basis in accordance with the documents setting out the conditions for support.

Article 6 - Budget

1. The total indicative financial envelope for the implementation of the Instrument for the period from 1 January 2028 to 31 December 2034 shall be EUR 200 309 000 000 in current prices. It shall be composed of the following indicative amounts:

(a)Europe: EUR 43 174 000 000;

(b) Middle East, North Africa and the Gulf: EUR 42 934 000 000;

(c)Sub-Saharan Africa: EUR 60 531 000 000;

(d)Asia and the Pacific: EUR 17 050 000 000;

(e)Americas and the Caribbean: EUR 9 144 000 000;

(f)Global: EUR 12 668 000 000.

2. Additionally, financial resources for Ukraine shall be made available through the Instrument in accordance with Article 6 of Council Regulation [(EU, Euratom) 20XX/XXX * [MFF Regulation].

The financial support to Ukraine in the form of loans shall be available through the Instrument for an amount of up to EUR 100 000 000 000 for the period from 1 January 2028 to 31 December 2034. The overall amount of disbursements of the loans to Ukraine shall take into account the amounts made available pursuant to the first subparagraph and the amount referred to in the third subparagraph.

The sum of the resources made available pursuant to the first and second subparagraph shall not exceed EUR 100 000 000 000 for the period from 1 January 2028 to 31 December 2034.

Financial resources referred to in the first subparagraph may be used, where appropriate, to provide support under Regulation (Euratom) [XXX] (INSC-D) for the sole purpose of financing expenditure for Ukraine. Regulation (Euratom) [XXX] (INSC-D) shall apply to the use of those funds.

3. The emerging challenges and priorities cushion of EUR 14 808 000 000 shall increase the amounts referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article in accordance with Article 7.

4. The financial envelope referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article and the financial resources for Ukraine made available in accordance with Article 6 of Council Regulation [(EU, Euratom) 20XX/XXX * [MFF Regulation] referred to in paragraph 2 may also be used for technical and administrative assistance for the implementation of the Instrument, such as preparatory, monitoring, control, audit and evaluation activities, information and communication activities, including corporate communication on the political priorities of the Union in the external area, and corporate information technology systems and platforms, and all other technical and administrative assistance, including the financing of staff and staff-related expenses incurred by the Commission for the management of the Instrument at headquarters and Union delegations.

5. At least 90% of the expenditure under this Instrument shall fulfil the criteria for ODA (the ‘ODA target’), thus contributing to ODA collective commitments, including towards least developed countries. If a partner country loses ODA eligibility during the implementation period of the Instrument, expenditure committed in favour of that partner country after the loss of eligibility shall be excluded from the assessment of the ODA target. The expenditure referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article shall be excluded from the assessment of the ODA target.

6. The Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts to amend the percentage set out in paragraph 5.

7. Member States, Union institutions, bodies and agencies, partner countries, international organisations, international financial institutions, or other third parties, may make additional financial or in-kind contributions to the Instrument. Additional financial contributions shall constitute external assigned revenue within the meaning of Article 21(2), points (a), (d), or (e), or Article 21(5) of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509.

Article 7 - Emerging challenges and priorities cushion

1. The amount referred to in Article 6(3) shall be used where most needed and duly justified, in particular for the following purposes:

(a)to ensure an appropriate response of the Union in the event of unforeseen circumstances;

(b)to address new needs or emerging challenges, such as those at the Union’s or its neighbours’ borders linked to crisis, whether natural or man-made, violent conflict and post-crisis situations, or migratory pressure and forced displacement;

(c)to promote new Union led or international initiatives or priorities.

2. The Commission shall inform in detail the European Parliament and the Council before it mobilises the funds of the emerging challenges and priorities cushion and, where appropriate, shall take into consideration their observations on the nature, objectives and financial amounts envisaged.

3. The use of those funds shall be decided in accordance with the procedures established in Articles 17 and 19 or those established in Regulation (EC) No 1257/96.

Article 8 – Policy framework

1. The Union’s policies, as set out in association agreements, partnership and cooperation agreements, multilateral agreements to which the Union is a party, and other agreements that establish a legally binding relationship between the Union and partner countries as well as European Council conclusions, Council conclusions, summit declarations or conclusions of meetings with partner countries at the level of heads of state or government or ministers, European Parliament resolutions, communications of the Commission and joint communications with the High Representative shall constitute the overall policy framework for the implementation of the Instrument.

2. The Commission shall regularly inform the European Parliament and the Council and, at the initiative of any of those three institutions, have exchanges of views with them. The European Parliament may hold regular exchanges of views regarding its own assistance programmes with the Commission.

Article 9 – General principles

1. The Union shall concentrate its means where they can make the most transformational impact with a view to supporting sustainable development and catering for the strategic interests of the Union.

2. The Union shall continue to engage in contexts experiencing extremely high levels of fragility, conflict areas, and other complex settings.

In situations of crisis, post-crisis or in extreme fragility, due account shall be taken of the special needs of the population of the partner countries or regions concerned. Where partner countries or regions are directly involved in, or affected by a situation of crisis, post-crisis or extreme fragility, special emphasis shall be placed on stepping up support and coordination amongst all relevant actors to help with the transition from an emergency situation to sustainable development and stable peace, ensuring consistency between international cooperation and humanitarian aid in accordance with the humanitarian-development-peace nexus.

3. The Union shall seek to promote, develop and consolidate the principles of democracy, good governance, the rule of law and respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms on which it is founded, notably through dialogue and cooperation with partner countries and regions and with civil society, including through action in multilateral fora.

4. Actions under this Instrument shall apply a human rights-based approach encompassing all human rights That approach shall be guided by the principles of ‘leaving no one behind’, equality, non-discrimination on any grounds, including towards persons with disabilities.

5. The Instrument shall promote gender equality and girls’ and women’s empowerment and prevent and fight violence against women and domestic violence. It shall also give particular attention to the rights of the child and to the protection and empowerment of youth.

6. The Instrument shall be implemented in full accordance with the Union commitment to the promotion, protection and fulfilment of all human rights and to the full and effective implementation of the Beijing Declaration and the Platform for Action 66 of the International Conference on Population and Development and the outcomes of their review conferences and remains committed to sexual and reproductive health and rights, in this context. The Instrument shall also support the Union commitment to the promotion, protection and fulfilment of the right of every individual to have full control over and decide freely and responsibly on matters related to their sexuality and sexual and reproductive health, free from discrimination, coercion and violence. It shall also support the need for universal access to quality and affordable comprehensive sexual and reproductive health information, education, including comprehensive sexuality education, and health-care services.

7. The Union shall support, as appropriate, the implementation of bilateral, regional and multilateral cooperation and dialogue, association and trade agreements and partnership agreements.

The Union shall promote multilateralism and a rules-based approach to global goods and challenges and shall cooperate with Member States, partner countries, international organisations and other donors.

In relations with partner countries, their track record in implementing commitments, international agreements, and contractual relations with the Union shall be taken into account.

8. Cooperation between the Union and the Member States, on the one hand, and partner countries, on the other, shall be based on and shall promote the development effectiveness principles, where applicable, across all modalities, namely ownership of development priorities by partner countries, a focus on results, inclusive development partnerships, transparency and mutual accountability. The Union shall promote effective and efficient resource mobilisation and use.

9. In accordance with the principle of inclusive partnership, where appropriate, the Commission shall ensure that relevant stakeholders of partner countries, including civil society organisations and local authorities, are duly consulted and have timely access to relevant information allowing them to play a meaningful role during the design, implementation and associated monitoring processes of programmes and actions under the Instrument.

10. The Commission shall exchange information on a regular basis with civil society within the Union.

11. The Commission shall also ensure that an enhanced dialogue is pursued with the private sector.

Article 10 - Mainstreaming

Programmes and actions under the Instrument shall mainstream the fight against climate change, environmental protection and gender equality, in accordance with Regulation (EU, Euratom) [XXX] [Performance Regulation]. Those priorities shall be considered in the design and implementation of actions under the Instrument, with the aim to create co-benefits and meet multiple objectives in a coherent way.

Article 11 – Team Europe approach

1. The Commission and the Member States shall aim to closely coordinate their actions to avoid duplication and to improve coherence and complementarity between assistance carried out under this Instrument and any other assistance provided by the Member States, their implementing agencies, development finance institutions and export credit agencies as well as by the EIB and the EBRD.

2. The Commission and the Member States shall aim to ensure timely consultations and frequent exchanges of information with each other during the different phases of the implementation cycle, which shall endeavour to jointly identify, discuss and implement actions, including in terms of information, communication and visibility.

3. The Commission and the Member States, acting in a Team Europe approach, shall aim to cooperate with like-minded partners and stakeholders, including the pooling of resources, to jointly contribute to the achievement of common goals.

Article 12 – Migration and forced displacement

1. The Union shall engage with partner countries on the basis of a comprehensive approach towards migration, in particular to prevent irregular migration, and forced displacement, including their root causes.

2. This approach shall maximise synergies and build comprehensive partnerships, paying specific attention to countries of origin, transit and departure in a seamless whole-of-route approach. It shall combine all appropriate tools and the necessary leverage through a flexible approach with, as appropriate within this context, possible changes in allocation of funding related to migration in accordance with the objectives and programming principles of the Instrument as set out in Articles 4 and 14. It shall take into account effective cooperation and implementation of Union agreements and arrangements and of dialogues on migration. Those actions shall be implemented in full respect of international law, including international human rights and refugee law, Union and national competences.

3. In case the Commission services, in consultation with EEAS, identifies serious shortcomings in a partner country related in particular to the obligation to readmit its own nationals from the Member States, the Commission may suspend payments or the implementation of a programme. In no case the suspension shall affect humanitarian assistance.

4. To assess the existence of the serious shortcomings referred to in paragraph 3, and following consultations with the beneficiary country, the Commission shall rely on the assessments carried in accordance with Article 25a of Regulation (EC) No 810/2009 67 and with Article 8 of Regulation (EU) 2018/1806 68 , while taking into account the Union’s overall relations with the beneficiary country concerned, including in the field of migration, as well as the principle of proportionality.

5. Where the Commission considers that the reasons justifying the measure taken in accordance with paragraph 3 no longer apply, the Commission shall lift the suspension.

Title II - Implementation of the instrument

Chapter I – General programming provisions

Article 13 – General programming approach

1. Actions under Article 3(2), point (a) and Article 3(3), point (a) shall be based on programming.

2. On the basis of Article 8, programming documents shall provide a coherent framework for cooperation between the Union, partner countries or regions and other partners, consistent with the overall purpose and scope, objectives and principles set out in this Regulation.

The Commission shall consult other donors and actors, including local authorities, representatives of civil society and the private sector, where relevant.

The Commission shall inform the European Parliament and the Council about the outcome of the consultations envisaged under the second subparagraph.

3. The Instrument shall contribute to actions established under Regulation (EU) [XXX] [Erasmus+]. A single programming document shall be drawn up under this Regulation for the duration of the multiannual financial framework. Regulation (EU) [XXX] [Erasmus+] shall apply to the use of those funds.

Article 14 - Geographic programming principles

1. Programming under Article 3(2), point (a), shall be based on the following principles:

(a)actions shall be based, to the extent possible, on a dialogue between the Union, Member States and the partner countries concerned, including national, regional and local authorities, and involving civil society;

(b)programming may envisage cooperation activities funded from different allocations set out in Article 6(1) and from other Union programmes in accordance with the relevant legal acts.

2. Programming under Article 3(1), first subparagraph, points (a) to (e) shall provide a specific, tailor-made framework for cooperation based on, where relevant, the following elements:

(a)partner countries’ and regions’ priorities, established on the basis of the dialogue referred to in paragraph 1, taking also into account the national or regional strategy and plan;

(b)the partnership with the Union, including the promotion of mutual interests and shared priorities, as well as the level of ambition of commonly agreed objectives;

(c)for candidate countries and potential candidates and partner countries in the Neighbourhood East region, results in the areas of political reform, economic and social development and convergence towards the EU acquis;

(d)partner countries and regions’ capacity and commitment to promote shared values and principles, and to support multilateral alliances and a rules-based international system;

(e)partner countries and regions’ level of development and commitment to address the drivers of fragility and irregular migration and forced displacement, including their root causes;

(f)partner countries and regions’ capacity to mobilise and make effective use of domestic resources as well as to access financial resources of other actors, including private sector;

(g)partner countries and regions’ absorption capacity and the potential impact of Union funding in partner countries and regions.

Article 15 – Geographic programming documents

1. As regards actions under Article 3(2), point (a), the implementation of the Instrument shall be carried out through multiannual country, multi-country, regional or trans-regional indicative programmes.

2. The multiannual indicative programmes referred to in paragraph 1 shall set out the priority areas selected for Union financing, the specific objectives and, where appropriate, the indicative financial allocations and the methods of implementation.

3. Those multiannual indicative programmes shall be based on:

(a)a national or regional strategy accepted by the Commission as a basis for the corresponding multiannual indicative programme, at the time of adoption of the latter document. For Enlargement and Neighbourhood East partners covered under Article 3(1), first subparagraph, point (a), where relevant, this document may take the form of a performance-based plan and comply with the implementing rules set out in line with Article 31 of this Regulation.

(b)a framework document laying down the Union policy towards the partner or partners concerned, including a joint document between the Union and Member States;

(c)a joint document between the Union and the partner or partners concerned setting out common priorities and mutual commitments.

Article 16 – Global programming documents

1. As regards actions under Article 3(3), point (a), the implementation of the Instrument shall be carried out through multiannual indicative programmes.

2. The multiannual indicative programmes referred to in paragraph 1 shall set out the Union’s strategy, the priorities selected for Union financing, the specific objectives and the indicative financial allocations.

Where applicable, resources and intervention priorities shall be laid down for participation in global initiatives.

Article 17 – Adoption and amendment of multiannual indicative programmes

1. The Commission shall adopt, by means of implementing acts, multiannual indicative programmes referred to in Articles 15 and 16. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 32(2). That procedure shall also apply to reviews referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article, which have the effect of significantly amending the content of the multiannual indicative programme.

2. Multiannual indicative programmes may be reviewed on an ad hoc basis as necessary for effective implementation, in particular where there are substantive changes in the policy framework referred to in Article 8 or following a situation of crisis or post-crisis.

3. On duly justified imperative grounds of urgency, such as crises or immediate threats to peace, democracy, the rule of law, human rights or fundamental freedoms, the Commission may amend multiannual indicative programmes referred to in Articles 15 and 16 by means of immediately applicable implementing acts adopted in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 32(5).

Chapter II - Action plans, measures and implementation principles

Article 18 - Action plans and measures

1. The Commission shall adopt annual or multiannual action plans and measures. Measures may take the form of individual measures, special measures, support measures or exceptional assistance measures. Action plans and measures shall take into account the specific context and shall specify for each action the objectives pursued, the expected results and relevant activities, the methods of implementation as well as the budget and any possible support expenditures.

2. Actions financed by programmable amounts shall be based on programming documents. Action plans shall be prepared in an inclusive, transparent and timely manner.

3. Where necessary, an action may be adopted as an individual measure before or after the adoption of action plans. Individual measures financed by programmable amounts shall be based on programming documents, except in duly justified cases.

4. In the event of unforeseen needs or circumstances, and where funding is not possible from more appropriate sources, the Commission may adopt special measures not provided for in the programming documents.

5. The Commission may adopt exceptional assistance measures for crisis, peace and foreign policy needs actions.

An exceptional assistance measure shall have a duration of up to 18 months, which may be extended twice by a further period of up to six months, up to a total maximum duration of 30 months, in the event of objective and unforeseen obstacles to its implementation.

In cases of protracted crisis and conflict, the Commission may adopt a second exceptional assistance measure of a duration of up to 18 months. In duly justified cases, further measures may be adopted where the continuity of the Union’s action is essential and cannot be ensured by other means.

6. Where support expenditure referred to in Article 6(4) is not included in the action plans or measures referred to in this Article, the Commission shall adopt support measures, where applicable.

Article 19 - Adoption of action plans and measures

1. Action plans and measures shall be adopted by means of implementing acts. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 32(2).

2. The procedure referred to in paragraph 1, second sentence, shall not apply to the following:

(a)action plans and individual measures for which the Union’s funding does not exceed EUR 10 000 000;

(b)special and support measures for which the Union’s funding does not exceed EUR 20 000 000;

(c)exceptional assistance measures referred to in Article 18(5) as well as action plans adopted in order to implement crisis, peace and foreign policy needs actions for which the Union’s funding does not exceed EUR 40 000 000;

(d)technical amendments to action plans and measures, provided that such amendments do not substantially affect the objectives of the action plan or measure concerned, such as:

(i) change of method of implementation;

(ii) reassignments of funds between actions contained in an action plan;

(iii) increases of the budget of action plans and measures by not more than 20 % of this budget;

(e)interest rate and borrowing cost subsidies provided to the beneficiary partner country linked to financial assistance if duly justified.

When adopted in accordance with this paragraph, action plans and measures, except exceptional assistance measures for crisis, peace and foreign policy needs, and technical amendments shall be communicated by the Commission to the European Parliament and to the Member States through the relevant committee referred to in Article 32(1) within one month of their adoption.

3. Before the adoption or extension of exceptional assistance measures referred to in paragraph 2, first subparagraph, point (c), the Commission shall inform the European Parliament and the Council of the nature and objectives of those measures and of the financial amounts envisaged. The Commission shall inform the European Parliament and the Council before making significant substantive changes to exceptional assistance measures already adopted. The Commission shall take account of the relevant policy approach for the planning and subsequent implementation of such measures, in the interest of consistency of the Union’s external action.

4. Where duly justified, imperative grounds of urgency, such as crises, including natural or man-made disasters, or immediate threats to democracy, the rule of law, human rights or fundamental freedoms so require, the Commission may adopt action plans and measures or amendments to existing action plans and measures, as immediately applicable implementing acts, in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 32(5).

Article 20 - Eligibility rules

1. Subject to paragraphs 10 and 11 of this Article, participants to procurement, grant and prize award procedures for actions financed under Article 3(1), first subparagraph, points (b) to (e) shall be nationals of or effectively established in any of the following:

(a)a Member State, an overseas country or territory linked to a Member State as set out in Annex II to the TFEU, or a member of the European Economic Area;

(b)an acceding country, a candidate country or potential candidate;

(c)a developing country or territory which is not a member of the G-20 group;

(d)a partner country in the Neighbourhood South region as listed in Annex I;

(e)any other partner country, when it is a beneficiary of the action financed under this Instrument;

(f)a country for which reciprocal access to external funding is established by the Commission;

(g)a member country of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, in the case of contracts implemented in a least developed country as included in the list of ODA recipients.

2. Subject to paragraphs 10 and 11 of this Article, participants in procurement, grant and prize award procedures for actions financed under Article 3(1), first subparagraph, point (a) shall be nationals of, or be effectively established in a country or territory as referred to in paragraph 1 point (a), (b), (d), (e) and (f) of this Article or a partner country in the Eastern Neighbourhood region as listed in Annex I.

3. Subject to paragraph 10 of this Article, participation in procurement, grant and prize award procedures for actions financed under Article 3(1) first subparagraph, point (f) and Article 3 (2), point (b) (v) shall be open without limitations.

4. Subject to paragraph 10 of this Article, participation in procurement, grant and prize award shall also be open to international organisations.

5. Subject to paragraph 10 of this Article, all products financed under the Instrument may originate from any country or territory.

6. Subject to paragraph 10 of this Article, the eligibility rules laid down in this Article shall not apply to, and shall not create nationality restrictions for, natural persons employed or otherwise legally contracted by an eligible contractor or, where applicable, by an eligible subcontractor.

7. Subject to paragraph 10 of this Article, for actions implemented in direct or indirect management by entities referred to in Article 62(1), point (c) (ii) to (ix) of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509, the countries and territories that are eligible in accordance with the rules of such entities for the purpose of participation to procurement, grants and prize award procedures shall be eligible, in addition to the countries and territories that are eligible under this Article. Products shall originate from the countries and territories eligible in accordance with the rules of those entities, in addition to the countries and territories eligible to procurement, grant and prize award procedures under this Article.

Subject to paragraph 10 of this Article for actions implemented by entities not covered under the previous subparagraph, when such actions are jointly financed with third parties that are not recipients of these actions, those recipients may decide that the countries and territories that are eligible under the rules of those third parties for the purpose of participation to procurement, grant and prize award procedures shall be eligible, in addition to the countries and territories that are eligible under this Article.

8. Where a third party provides financing to a trust fund established by the Commission or through external assigned revenues, the eligibility rules in the constitutive act of the trust fund or in the agreement with the third party in case of external assigned revenues shall apply.

9. Subject to paragraphs 10 and 11, in the case of actions financed under this Instrument and by another Union programme, or by several pillars of this Instrument, the eligibility rules with their possible restrictions and extensions under any of those programmes or pillars shall apply.

10. The eligibility rules laid down in this Article or the type of participants in award procedures, including with respect to their direct and indirect control by entities of a partner country, may be restricted where such restrictions are required on account of the specific nature or objectives of the activity or the application of Union restrictive measures, or where those restrictions are necessary for the effective implementation of the activity or where such restrictions are in the strategic interests of the Union. Eligibility restrictions shall apply to high-risk suppliers, for security reasons.

The eligibility rules laid down in this Article may also be restricted by Union response measures adopted under the Regulation on the protection of the Union and its Member States from economic coercion by third countries and Regulation (EU) 2022/1031 of the European Parliament and of the Council 69 .

11. The eligibility rules laid down in this Article may be extended in the case of urgency or the unavailability of eligible participants in the markets of the countries or territories concerned, or in other duly substantiated cases where application of the eligibility rules would make the realisation of an action impossible or exceedingly difficult or where such extension is in the strategic interests of the Union.

12. In order to promote local capacities, markets and purchases, where Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509 provides for an award on the basis of a single tender, priority shall be given to local and regional economic operators. In all other cases, participation of local and regional economic operators shall be promoted in accordance with the relevant provisions of that Regulation. Sustainability and due diligence criteria shall be promoted.

Article 21 – Excluded activities

Union funding under the Instrument shall not support actions or measures which may result in the violation of human rights in partner countries.

Article 22 – Carry overs, annual instalments, re-payments, revenue and recoveries from financial instruments and surpluses from the budgetary guarantee

1. By way of derogation from Article 12(4) of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509, unused commitment and payment appropriations under this Instrument shall be automatically carried-over and may be committed and used under this Instrument under the corresponding budget line specified under Article 6(1), respectively, up to 31 December of the following financial year. The amount carried over shall be used first in the following financial year.

The Commission shall inform the European Parliament and the Council of commitment appropriations carried-over in accordance with Article 12(6) of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509.

2. Budgetary commitments for actions extending over more than one financial year may be broken down over several years into annual instalments, in accordance with Article 112(2) of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509.

Article 114(2), third subparagraph of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509 shall not apply to the multiannual actions referred to in the first subparagraph of this paragraph. The Commission shall automatically decommit any portion of a budgetary commitment for an action which, by 31 December of the fifth year following that of the budgetary commitment, has not been used for the purpose of pre-financing or making interim payments, or for which no certified statement of expenditure or any payment request has been submitted.

3. If the Regulation enters into force after 1.01.2028: From 1 January 2028, by way of derogation from Article 212(3), first, second and fourth subparagraph of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509, and without prejudice to Article 12(4) of Regulation (EU) 2024/792 revenue, repayments and recoveries from financial instruments for external action established under basic acts adopted before 2021, under Regulations (EU) 2021/1529, (EU) 2021/947 and (EU) 2024/792, as well as under this Regulation, may be used to provide Union support under this Regulation.

By way of derogation from Article 21(3), point (f) of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509and from Article 12(4) of Regulation (EU) 2024/792, the resources referred to in the first sub-paragraph shall be assigned to the budget line of origin of the Instrument and constitute external assigned revenue within the meaning of Article 21(5) Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509.

4. If the Regulation enters into force after 1.01.2028: From 1 January 2028, in accordance with Article 14(3) of Decision (EU) 2022/1628 and by way of derogation from Article 31(8) of Regulation (EU) 2021/947, any surplus of provisions in the Guarantee Fund for external actions established by Regulation (EC, Euratom) 480/2009 may be used to provide Union support under this Regulation.

If the Regulation enters into force after 1.01.2028: From 1 January 2028, by way of derogation from Article 216(4), point (a) of Regulation 2024/2509, and without prejudice to Article 12(5) of Regulation (EU) 2024/792 and to Article 14(3) of Decision (EU) 2022/1628, any surplus of provisions for the budgetary guarantees and financial assistance established under Regulations (EU) 2017/1601, (EU) 2021/947, (EU) 2024/792, (EU) 2024/1449, (EU) 2025/535 and this Regulation, may be used to provide Union support under this Regulation.

By way of derogation from Article 12(5) of Regulation (EU) 2024/792, the resources referred to in the first sub-paragraph shall be assigned to the budget line of origin of the Instrument and constitute external assigned revenue within the meaning of Article 21(5) of Regulation 2024/2509.

Chapter III – Implementation toolbox

Article 23 - Implementation and forms of Union funding

1. The Instrument shall be implemented either directly or indirectly through any of the entities listed in Article 62(1), point (c), of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509 including those within the meaning of point (c) (ix). The Commission may also entrust budget implementation tasks to the Union Institute for Security Studies and the European Security and Defence College in accordance with Article 62(1), point (c) (viii) of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509.

2. Union funding may be provided through the types of financing laid down in Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509, including contributions to trust funds set up by the Commission, in accordance with Article 238 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509, and those specifically authorised in this Instrument. The budgetary guarantee, financial instruments, including when combined with grants or with other forms of non-repayable support in blending operations, and financial assistance under the Instrument shall be implemented in accordance with Title X of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509.

3. When working with civil society organisations and stakeholders of partner countries such as local authorities, the Commission shall take into account their specificities, including their needs and the relevant context, when defining the financing modalities, the type of contribution, the participation, the evaluation and award modalities and the administrative provisions for the management of grants, with a view to reaching and best responding to the widest possible range of such stakeholders. Specific modalities shall be encouraged in accordance with Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509, such as financial framework partnership agreements, financial support to third parties, grants awarded without a call for proposals, or simplified forms of funding referred to in Article 125(1) of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509.

4. By way of derogation from Article 198 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509, grants may be awarded without a call for proposals in the following cases:

(a)low-value grants to human rights defenders to finance urgent protection actions and needs, including through mechanisms for the protection of human rights defenders at risk, as well as to mediators and other civil society actors involved in crisis and armed conflict related dialogue, conflict resolution, reconciliation and peacebuilding, where appropriate without the need for co-financing;

(b)grants, where appropriate without the need for co-financing, to finance actions in the most difficult conditions where the publication of a call for proposals would be inappropriate, including situations where there is a serious lack of fundamental freedoms, including violation of human rights, threats to democratic institutions, escalation of crisis or armed conflict, where human security is most at risk or where human rights organisations and defenders, mediators and other civil society actors involved in crisis and armed conflict related dialogue, reconciliation and peacebuilding operate under the most difficult conditions; such grants shall not exceed EUR 1 000 000 and their duration shall not exceed 18 months, which may be extended by a further 12 months in the event of objective and unforeseen obstacles to their implementation;

(c)grants to the Global Campus of Human Rights;

(d)low value grants to civil society organisations using, to the extent possible, simplified forms of funding in accordance with Article 125 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509.

(e)where necessary and duly justified in the action plans and measures referred to in Article 18, grants to legal entities governed by private law which are effectively established in a Member State to facilitate investments that are in the strategic interest of the Union and support the objectives of the Instrument.

5. In areas pertaining to the protection of human rights and democracy and support to civil society actors, the Union may provide assistance independently of the consent of governments and other public authorities of the partner countries concerned; those actions shall mainly support civil society actors, taking into account forms and methods of implementation, as referred to in paragraph 4 of this Article.

6. Budget support, including through sector reform performance contracts, shall be based on country ownership, mutual accountability and the commitment of partner countries, taking into account their record and progress with regard to universal values, democracy, human rights and the rule of law, and aims to strengthen partnerships between the Union and partner countries. It shall include reinforced policy dialogue, capacity building and improved governance, complementing partners’ efforts to collect more and to spend better in order to support sustainable, inclusive growth and decent job creation, including for young people poverty eradication, inequality reduction, and to build and consolidate democracies and peaceful societies. Budget support shall also contribute to gender equality.

Any decision to provide budget support shall be based on budget support policies agreed by the Union, a clear set of eligibility criteria and a careful assessment of the risks and benefits.

Budget support shall be differentiated in such a way as to respond better to the political, economic, social and environmental context of the partner country, taking into account situations of fragility.

When providing budget support in accordance with Article 241 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509, the Commission shall clearly define and monitor criteria for budget support conditionality, including progress in reforms and transparency, and shall support the development of parliamentary control, national audit capacities and increased transparency and public access to information.

Disbursement of the budget support shall be based on indicators demonstrating satisfactory progress being made towards achieving the objectives agreed with the partner country.

6. In accordance with Article 196 (2), second subparagraph, point (a), of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509, in duly justified cases specified in the action plans and measures referred to in Article 18, activities supported under the Instrument and the underlying costs incurred in 2028 may be considered eligible as of 1 January 2028, even if those activities were implemented and those costs were incurred before the grant application was submitted.

7. Implementation of actions in indirect management, including through financial instruments, budgetary guarantees and blending operations under the Instrument shall be entrusted whenever possible and in accordance with Article 157(1), first subparagraph of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509, to the EIB, the EBRD, or a Member State organisation, possibly combined with additional other forms of financial support, both from Member States and third parties.

8. Taxes, duties and charges incurred when implementing Union funds under this Regulation, imposed by partner countries, may be eligible for financing under the Instrument, under the conditions laid down in Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509, with the exception of taxes, duties and charges specifically targeting external action financing.

9. For the purposes of Article 153(3) of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509, the evaluation committee may be composed partially or fully of external experts.

10. In the case of indirect management with partner countries, bodies they have designated or partner countries’ organisations or bodies at regional or global level where the Commission retains financial management responsibilities in accordance with Article 157(7), second subparagraph, point (a), of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509, the Commission shall, where necessary and without prejudice to the responsibilities of the contracting authorities, recover amounts due from the contracting authorities' recipients in accordance with Articles 101 to 106 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509 with the exception of Article 101(7), (8) and (9) thereof, including by means of a decision enforceable under the same conditions as those laid down in Article 299 TFEU. The financing agreement shall contain provisions to that end.

Where such partner country, the body the partner country has designated or the partner countries’ organisation or body at regional or global level fails to fulfil its budget implementation tasks or the obligations, principles, objectives and rules which condition the exercise of the indirect management, the Commission may take any steps that are necessary, including temporarily or definitively take the entity’s place and act in the name and on behalf of the former in indirect management. In such a case, the Commission may receive, from the resources allocated to the partner country in question, financial compensation for the additional administrative workload incurred.

11. Joint procurement within the meaning of Article 168 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509 financed under this Regulation, may be conducted with any partner country.

12. Cooperation between the Union and its partners may include participation in structures set up for concerting programming with other donors, or for governing the implementation of actions, as well as entering into joint declarations or statements for the purpose of enhancing the visibility of the Union’s contribution and ensuring effective budget implementation and coordination, as well as financing agreements concluded with partner countries’ organisations or bodies at regional or global level.

Article 24 - Budgetary guarantees and financial assistance: maximum Union support, financing and borrowings

1. The Union may provide support in the form of a budgetary guarantee up to a maximum amount of EUR 95 000 000 000 in current prices. The amounts of financial assistance implemented as macro-financial assistance in the form of loans and as policy-based loans referred to in Article 23(2) as well as the amounts of the loans provided under Regulation (Euratom) [XXX] (INSC-D) shall reduce the maximum amount of the budgetary guarantee.

2. The provisioning rate for the budgetary guarantee and financial assistance referred to in paragraph 1 shall range between 9 % and 50 % depending on the type of operations. The provisioning rate shall be 9% for the financial assistance and for budgetary guarantee covering sovereign risks associated with lending operations.

3. The Union support to Ukraine in the form of budgetary guarantee and financial assistance shall not count toward the maximum amount referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article.

The Union may provide support to Ukraine in the form of a budgetary guarantee up to EUR 48 000 000 000 in current prices. The provisioning rate for the budgetary guarantee to guarantee operations supporting Ukraine shall initially be set at 70 %.

No provisioning shall be constituted and, by way of derogation from Article 214(1) of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509, no provisioning rate shall be set for the loans to Ukraine.

4. The Commission shall review the provisioning rates under paragraphs 2 and 3 of this Article every year in accordance with the assessment referred to in Article 41(5), point (g), of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509 and in line with the Commission’s risk management framework.

5. The Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 30 to amend paragraphs 2 and 3 of this Article in order to adjust the provisioning rates therein, and to increase the maximum amounts referred to in paragraphs 1 and 3 of this Article by up to 20% and 30% of those amounts respectively.

6. Without prejudice to Article 6(7), specific contributions to the budgetary guarantee, financial instruments or financial assistance may be made by Member States, partner countries and other third parties in accordance with Articles 211(2) and 221(2) of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509. Such contributions to the budgetary guarantee or financial assistance shall result in an additional amount of the budgetary guarantee or financial assistance.

7. Where contributions referred to in paragraph 6 are made in the form of cash, they shall constitute external assigned revenue within the meaning of Article 21(2), points (a), (d) and (e), and Article 21(5) of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509.

8. The budgetary guarantee established in accordance with paragraphs 1 and 3 of this Article may be used, within the maximum amounts referred to in paragraphs 1 and 3 of this Article, to provide support under Council Decision (EU) 2021/1764 and Regulation (Euratom) [XXX] (INSC-D), in accordance with the objectives and eligibility criteria set out in those programmes. For that purpose, the provisioning shall be financed from the financial envelopes of those other Union programmes.

9. The amounts referred to in Article 6(1), point (a) to (e) shall be used for the provisioning of the budgetary guarantee and financial assistance referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article. The provisioning of the Union support to Ukraine in the form of budgetary guarantee referred to in paragraph 3 shall be financed by the financial resources made available in accordance with Article 6 of Regulation Council Regulation [(EU, Euratom) 20XX/XXX * [MFF Regulation] referred to in Article 6(2), including where the budgetary guarantee is provided for activities under Regulation (Euratom) [XXX] (INSC-D).

10. The provisioning referred to in paragraphs 8 and 9 of this Article shall not be committed later than at the end of the last year of the multiannual financial framework.

11. In accordance with Article 214(2) of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509, the provisioning referred to in paragraphs 8 and 9 of this Article shall be constituted until three years after the end of the multiannual financial framework and shall take into account the progress in the approval and signature of the financing and investment operations or in the disbursement of the financial assistance as well as the risk profile of the operations.

12. The Commission shall be empowered on behalf of the Union to borrow the necessary funds to implement financial assistance provided under this Regulation. The Commission shall borrow the funds on the capital markets or from financial institutions in accordance with Article 224 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509.

Article 25 - Implementation of the budgetary guarantee and financial instruments

1. The budgetary guarantee shall be used to guarantee counterparts’ sovereign, sub-sovereign and private operations.

2. Where partner countries contribute to financial instruments or the budgetary guarantee, eligible implementing entities or counterparts from the countries concerned may also be eligible implementing entities or counterparts. By way of derogation from Article 211(5), third subparagraph of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509, eligible implementing entities or counterparts from partner countries benefitting from the budgetary guarantee or financial instruments may also be eligible.

3. By way of derogation from Article 62(1), first subparagraph, point (c), and Article 211(5) of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509, where financial instruments or the budgetary guarantee are implemented in indirect management, bodies which provide adequate assurance of their financial capacity and governed by private law of a Member State, a partner country benefitting from the financial instruments or the budgetary guarantee, or a partner country which has contributed to the financial instruments or the budgetary guarantee shall be eligible.

4. The Commission shall ensure the effective, efficient and fair use of available resources among eligible implementing entities and counterparts, including small and medium-sized counterparts, while promoting cooperation between them and taking due account of their capacities, added value and experience.

5. In order to ensure complementarity, the Commission may request any relevant information from counterparts about their operations not covered by the budgetary guarantee referred to in Article 24.

6. A Global Europe Investment Board (the ‘Investment Board’) shall provide strategic and operational guidance to the Commission in the implementation of the budgetary guarantee referred to in Article 24 and blending. The Investment Board shall adopt its rules of procedure. The Investment Board shall meet at least once a year and, when possible, adopt opinions by consensus.

The Investment Board shall be composed of representatives of the Commission and of the High Representative, of all Member States and of the EIB. The European Parliament shall have observer status. Contributors, eligible implementing entities and counterparts, partner countries, relevant regional organisations and other stakeholders may be given observer status, where appropriate. The Investment Board shall be co-chaired by the Commission and the High Representative.

Article 26 - Implementation of policy-based loans

1. The Commission shall adopt decisions, by means of implementing acts, making available the policy-based loan amount to a partner country and setting out the availability period of the loan which shall not go beyond three years after the end of the multiannual financial framework. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 32(2). If that decision is part of an action plan or measure, Articles 18 and 19 shall apply.

2. In addition to the elements laid down in Article 223(4) of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509, loan agreements for policy-based loans shall lay down the maximum loan amount, the availability period, the maximum duration of each disbursement of the loan and the detailed terms and conditions of the support. Such agreements may also contain an amount of pre-financing and rules on clearing of pre-financing.

Article 27 – Capital participation in development finance institutions

The amounts referred to in Article 6(1), points (a) to (e), may be used to contribute to the capital endowment of European and other development finance institutions.

Article 28 – Cross-Border Cooperation

1. Cross-border cooperation shall cover cooperation along external adjacent land and maritime borders, transnational cooperation over larger transnational territories or around sea-basins, as well as interregional cooperation.

2. The pillars referred to in Article 3(1), points (a) and (b) may contribute to cross-border cooperation programmes referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article co-financed by the Regulation (EU, Euratom) [XXX] of the European Parliament and Council [National and Regional Partnerships Regulation]. Up to 3% of the financial envelope for the pillars referred to in Article 3(1), point (a) may be indicatively allocated to support those programmes.

3. Contributions to cross-border cooperation programmes shall be determined and used pursuant to Article XX {Cross-fund provisions – external CBC programmes} of the Regulation (EU, Euratom) [XXX] [National and Regional Partnerships].

Title III – Final provisions

Article 29 – Extension of geographic scope

1. In duly justified cases and where the action to be implemented is of a global, trans-regional or regional nature, the Commission may decide, within the relevant multiannual indicative programmes or within the relevant action plans or measures to extend the scope of actions to overseas countries and territories linked to a Member State as set out in Annex II to the TFEU in order to ensure the coherence and effectiveness of Union financing or to foster regional or trans-regional cooperation.

2. The Commission may include a specific financial allocation to assist partner countries and regions to strengthen their cooperation with neighbouring Union outermost regions and with overseas countries and territories linked to a Member State as set out in Annex II to the TFEU. To that end, the Instrument, may contribute, where appropriate and on the basis of reciprocity and proportionality as regards the level of funding from the Council Decision (EU) 2021/1764 or the Regulation (EU, Euratom) [XXX] [National and Regional Partnerships] , to actions implemented by a partner country or region or any other entity under this Regulation, or by a country, territory or any other entity under the Council Decision (EU) 2021/1764 or by a Union outermost region in the frame of joint operational programmes or to interregional cooperation programmes or measures established and implemented under Regulation (EU, Euratom) [XXX] [National and Regional Partnerships].

Article 30 – Exercise of the delegation

1. The power to adopt delegated acts is conferred on the Commission subject to the conditions laid down in this Article.

2. The power to adopt delegated acts to amend Article 6(5), Article 24(1), (2) and (3) and Annex II shall be conferred on the Commission for the period of validity of this Regulation.

3. The delegation of power referred to in this Article may be revoked at any time by the European Parliament or by the Council. A decision to revoke shall put an end to the delegation of power specified in that decision. It shall take effect the day following the publication of the decision in the Official Journal of the European Union or at a later date specified therein. It shall not affect the validity of any delegated acts already in force.

4. Before adopting a delegated act, the Commission shall consult experts designated by each Member State in accordance with the principles laid down in the Interinstitutional Agreement of 13 April 2016 on Better Law-Making.

5. As soon as it adopts a delegated act, the Commission shall notify it simultaneously to the European Parliament and to the Council.

6. A delegated act adopted pursuant to this Article shall enter into force only if no objection has been expressed either by the European Parliament or to the Council within a period of two months of notification of that act to the European Parliament and to the Council or if, before the expiry of that period, the European Parliament and the Council have both informed the Commission that they will not object. That period shall be extended by two months at the initiative of the European Parliament or of the Council.

Article 31 – Adoption of further implementing rules for the Europe pillar

For Enlargement and Neighbourhood East partners in the pillar referred to in Article 3(1), point (a), the Commission shall adopt an implementing act establishing uniform conditions for implementing this Regulation, in relation to the design and content of the performance-based plans, performance, structures and control systems to be set up in preparation of accession, also in the context of the management of structural, agricultural and cross-border cooperation funds. This implementing act shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 32(2).

Article 32 – Committee procedure

1. The Commission shall be assisted by a committee. That committee shall be a committee within the meaning of Regulation (EU) No 182/2011. The committee may convene in different formats.

2. Where reference is made to this paragraph, Article 5 of Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 shall apply.

3. The rules of procedure of the committee shall provide for proportionate time limits allowing committee members early and effective opportunities to examine the draft implementing acts and express their views, in accordance with Article 3 of Regulation (EU) No 182/2011.

4. Where the opinion of the committee is to be obtained by a written procedure, that procedure shall be terminated without result when, within the time-limit for delivery of the opinion, the chair of the committee so decides or a simple majority of committee members so requests.

5. Where reference is made to this paragraph, Article 8 of Regulation (EU) No 182/2011, in conjunction with Article 5 thereof, shall apply.

6. The adopted decision shall remain in force for the duration of the adopted or modified document, action plan or measure.

7. When relevant, an observer from the EIB shall be invited to attend the meetings of the Committee with regard to questions concerning the EIB.

8. Member States may request the examination of any other matter concerning the implementation of the Instrument.

Article 33 – European External Action Service clause

This Regulation shall be applied in accordance with Decision 2010/427/EU, in particular Articles 3 and 9 thereof.

Article 34 – Repeal and transitional provisions

1. Regulations (EU) 2021/947, (EU) 2021/1529, (EU) 2024/792, (EU) 2024/1449 and (EU) 2025/535 are repealed with effect from [1 January 2028].

2. This Regulation shall not affect the continuation or modification of actions initiated pursuant to Regulations (EC) No 1085/2006 70 , Regulation (EU) No 231/2014 71 , Regulation (EU) 2021/1529, Regulation (EU) 2021/947, Regulation (EU) 2024/792, Regulation (EU) 2024/1449, and Regulation (EU) 2025/535, which shall continue to apply to those actions until their closure. However, Article 23 of this Regulation shall apply to actions under Regulation (EU) 2021/1529 and Regulation (EU) 2021/947 instead of Articles 26 and 27 of Regulation (EU) 2021/947.

3. The financial envelope for the Instrument may also cover technical and administrative assistance expenditures necessary to ensure the transition between this Regulation and the measures adopted under Regulations (EU) 2021/947, (EU) 2021/1529, (EU) 2024/1449.

4. The financial envelope for the Instrument may cover activities related to the preparation of any future related Regulation.

5. If necessary, appropriations may be entered in the budget beyond 2034 to cover the expenditures provided for in Article 6(4), to enable the management of actions not completed by 31 December 2034.

6. The financial envelopes referred to in Article 6(1), point (a) to (e) and the financial resources made available in accordance with Article 6 of Council Regulation [(EU, Euratom) 20XX/XXX * [MFF Regulation] referred to in Article 6(2) may finance the replenishment of the provisioning of the budgetary guarantees authorised under Regulation (EU) 2017/1601 and Regulation (EU) 2024/792, of the budgetary guarantees and financial assistance authorised under Regulation (EU) 2021/947 and under basic acts whose provisioning is governed by Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 480/2009, as well as financial assistance authorised under Regulation (EU) 2024/1449 and under Regulation (EU) 2025/535.

Article 35 – Entry into force and application

This Regulation shall enter into force on the day of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

It shall apply from 1 January 2028.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.

Done at Brussels,

For the European Parliament For the Council

The President The President

LEGISLATIVE FINANCIAL AND DIGITAL STATEMENT

1.FRAMEWORK OF THE PROPOSAL/INITIATIVE3

1.1.Title of the proposal/initiative3

1.2.Policy area(s) concerned3

1.3.Objective(s)3

1.3.1.General objective(s)3

1.3.2.Specific objective(s)3

1.3.3.Expected result(s) and impact3

1.3.4.Indicators of performance3

1.4.The proposal/initiative relates to:4

1.5.Grounds for the proposal/initiative4

1.5.1.Requirement(s) to be met in the short or long term including a detailed timeline for roll-out of the implementation of the initiative4

1.5.2.Added value of EU involvement (it may result from different factors, e.g. coordination gains, legal certainty, greater effectiveness or complementarities). For the purposes of this section 'added value of EU involvement' is the value resulting from EU action, that is additional to the value that would have been otherwise created by Member States alone.4

1.5.3.Lessons learned from similar experiences in the past4

1.5.4.Compatibility with the multiannual financial framework and possible synergies with other appropriate instruments5

1.5.5.Assessment of the different available financing options, including scope for redeployment5

1.6.Duration of the proposal/initiative and of its financial impact6

1.7.Method(s) of budget implementation planned6

2.MANAGEMENT MEASURES8

2.1.Monitoring and reporting rules8

2.2.Management and control system(s)8

2.2.1.Justification of the budget implementation method(s), the funding implementation mechanism(s), the payment modalities and the control strategy proposed8

2.2.2.Information concerning the risks identified and the internal control system(s) set up to mitigate them8

2.2.3.Estimation and justification of the cost-effectiveness of the controls (ratio between the control costs and the value of the related funds managed), and assessment of the expected levels of risk of error (at payment & at closure)8

2.3.Measures to prevent fraud and irregularities9

3.ESTIMATED FINANCIAL IMPACT OF THE PROPOSAL/INITIATIVE10

3.1.Heading(s) of the multiannual financial framework and expenditure budget line(s) affected10

3.2.Estimated financial impact of the proposal on appropriations12

3.2.1.Summary of estimated impact on operational appropriations12

3.2.1.1.Appropriations from voted budget12

3.2.1.2.Appropriations from external assigned revenues17

3.2.2.Estimated output funded from operational appropriations22

3.2.3.Summary of estimated impact on administrative appropriations24

3.2.3.1. Appropriations from voted budget24

3.2.3.2.Appropriations from external assigned revenues24

3.2.3.3.Total appropriations24

3.2.4.Estimated requirements of human resources25

3.2.4.1.Financed from voted budget25

3.2.4.2.Financed from external assigned revenues26

3.2.4.3.Total requirements of human resources26

3.2.5.Overview of estimated impact on digital technology-related investments28

3.2.6.Compatibility with the current multiannual financial framework28

3.2.7.Third-party contributions28

3.3.Estimated impact on revenue29

4.Digital dimensions29

4.1.Requirements of digital relevance30

4.2.Data30

4.3.Digital solutions31

4.4.Interoperability assessment31

4.5.Measures to support digital implementation32

1.FRAMEWORK OF THE PROPOSAL/INITIATIVE

1.1.Title of the proposal/initiative

Global Europe

1.2.Policy area(s) concerned

External Action

1.3.Objective(s)

1.3.1.General objective(s)

The general objective of the proposed Instrument, Global Europe, is to uphold and promote the Union’s values, principles and interests worldwide in order to pursue the objectives and principles of the Union’s external action, as laid down in Article 3(5), Articles 8 and 21 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU).

1.3.2.Specific objective(s)

The specific objectives of the Instrument are spelt out in Annex II.

1.3.3.Expected result(s) and impact

Specify the effects which the proposal/initiative should have on the beneficiaries/groups targeted.

Global Europe will contribute to the objectives of the EU’s external action, by promoting mutually beneficial partnerships with third countries, contributing simultaneously to the sustainable development of third countries and to the Union’s strategic interests. Global Europe will also allow the Union to be better positioned to address global challenges.

1.3.4.Indicators of performance

Specify the indicators for monitoring progress and achievements.

The output and result indicators for the purpose of monitoring progress and achievements of this programme will correspond to the common indicators provided under Regulation (EU, Euratom) [XXX] [Performance Regulation].

1.4.The proposal/initiative relates to:

¨ a new action

¨ a new action following a pilot project / preparatory action 72

¨ the extension of an existing action

x a merger or redirection of one or more actions towards another/a new action

1.5.Grounds for the proposal/initiative

1.5.1.Requirement(s) to be met in the short or long term including a detailed timeline for roll-out of the implementation of the initiative

The objective of the proposed Instrument, Global Europe, is to uphold and promote the Union’s values, principles and interests worldwide in order to pursue the objectives and principles of the Union’s external action, as laid down in Article 3(5), Articles 8 and 21 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU).

Reasons for action at EU level (ex-ante)

The international landscape has changed significantly over the last years, appearing far less predictable and stable. Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine, including its global impact, instability and conflict in the Middle East, pandemics, trade tensions, economic coercion, competition on technology and access to critical raw materials and the US administration’s disengagement from development cooperation, humanitarian aid and multilateral institutions represent significant geopolitical and geoeconomic challenges both for the EU and partner countries. Furthermore, the gap to reach the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030 continues to widen, global fragility is on the rise, and the impacts of climate change and biodiversity loss continue to increase. These challenges require the EU to continue adapting its external action financing.

EU’s external action financing seeks to partner with third countries, as well as promote multilateral solutions to global challenges. It enables the EU to defend its interests, to promote its values and standards, to support the objectives of its internal policies, ensure its security and protect its citizens. The mid-term evaluation of EU's External Financing Instruments for the 2021 - 2027 multiannual financial framework confirmed the added value that the External Financing Instruments bring to EU’s external relations, as they provide a more integrated and sizable offer to partner countries, improving their capacity to address shared priorities with the EU and contributing to sustainable development.

As a party to most multilateral processes, the EU can engage with multilateral and regional partners in key policy areas. Compared to its Member States acting separately, the EU, together with Member States, can achieve greater impact by coordinating common positions and speaking with a stronger voice. As a world’s leading proponent and defender of multilateral and rule-based global governance system, the EU has credibility as an honest broker and defender of core international human rights instruments. This leverage in multilateral and regional fora also enables the Union to project globally its policies and values, as well as influence the shaping of global norms and regulatory standards. The EU’s financial commitment is an integral part of the overall engagement in several multilateral agreements (e.g. climate and biodiversity).

Through the increased use of budgetary guarantees and blending operations, the EU incentivises and pools together public and private investments, including to the benefit of countries and sectors having difficult access to financial markets. Finally, the EU triggers collaboration among development financial institutions. Macro- financial assistance provides much needed financing for countries experiencing balance of payments crises, with favourable conditions.

Expected generated EU added value (ex-post)

The expected added value generated by Global Europe should follow on from the findings of the mid-term evaluation of EU's External Financing Instruments for the 2021 - 2027 Multiannual Financial Framework. Global Europe should allow to consolidate and streamline external action financing, enabling the Union to protect its interests abroad and adapt to evolving circumstances and needs. The Union shall strive to ensure policy coherence, taking into account the impact of all internal and external policies and promoting increased synergies and complementarities.

Global Europe shall provide all the tools for the EU to effectively operate in its external action. The readiness of this toolbox will ensure that the most appropriate tools are deployed in every circumstance depending on the objectives and the situation on the ground, with the possibility to adapt to evolving contexts.

This will harness the potential of mutually beneficial partnerships packages targeted for individual partner countries.

1.5.3.Lessons learned from similar experiences in the past

The mid-term evaluation on the EU’s external financing instruments confirms that the current instruments are largely fit for purpose. The evaluation corroborates that NDICI-Global Europe is on track to deliver against the objectives it was expected to fulfil at the time of its adoption. Moreover, the objectives of NDICI-Global Europe continue to be relevant and the instrument effectively serves the roll-out the Global Gateway strategy. In a similar vein, the mid-term evaluation shows that IPA III has demonstrated its general effectiveness as a pre-accession instrument and is likewise on track to meet its objectives. The instrument is aligned with the enlargement methodology and mirrors EU policy developments, such as the focus on green, digital and economic priorities.

However, following years of instability in the EU’s neighbourhood and beyond, the geopolitical stakes for the EU are far higher than when the 2021-2027 MFF was adopted. The EU operates in a highly volatile and unpredictable environment, characterised by geopolitical rivalry, geoeconomic competition, strategic dependencies, competitiveness challenges, the worsening triple planetary crisis of climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution, and increasing global fragility. This changing geopolitical landscape and a string of poly-crises have exposed some architectural weaknesses in the design of the external financing instruments.

Simultaneously, the link between EU external and internal policies has become increasingly relevant and is currently not sufficiently catered for – neither in the external nor in the internal financing instruments - and the interplay of external and internal financing instruments is sub-optimal.

As a result, while current external financing instruments are effective in delivering on their expected results, the changing geopolitical landscape and the era of poly-crises have exposed some architectural weaknesses in their design. Partner country, regional and global contexts evolve rapidly while the split between stand-alone pre-programmed and pre-earmarked instruments is not conducive to swift adaptation. Different strands of external action financing are currently fragmented into different financing instruments. The financial and operational barriers between different instruments hamper synergic approaches at the regional level (i.e. humanitarian-development-peace nexus), flexibility in reacting to evolving priorities and interplay between the Enlargement and Neighbourhood policies. There are therefore gains to be made, in terms of overall synergy and flexibility, in ensuring a common source of funding for most of the Union external action instruments, while preserving the capacity of the Union to conduct a principled humanitarian aid policy under Article 214 TFEU. While the budget to finance the Union’s humanitarian aid operations should be made available under this Instrument, such operations should therefore continue to be implemented in accordance with Council Regulation (EC) No 1257/96.

Lastly, the Communication on ‘the road to the next multiannual financial framework’ strives for external action financing that is better aligned with the EU’s strategic interests. However, the existing toolbox (intervention modalities) is not sufficient to advance them.

1.5.4.Compatibility with the multiannual financial framework and possible synergies with other appropriate instruments

When implementing this Regulation, consistency with other areas of external action and with other relevant EU policies will be ensured, together with policy coherence for development. As incorporated in the 2030 Agenda, this means taking into account the impact of all policies on sustainable development at all levels — nationally, within the EU, in other countries and at global level.

The Regulation is enabling in nature, which allows it to cater for different policy objectives in synergy with other Union policies. Moreover, synergies with actions under other EU programmes should be sought, in order to maximise the impact of combined interventions. In particular, articulation with the European Competitiveness Fund will be crucial to take various work streams (e.g. critical raw materials and related value chains, economic security and the Clean Industrial Deal) to the next level. Synergies with the Union’s strategic interests is strenghtened also by the updated toolbox. Finally, the implementation of this Regulation will be monitored and evaluated through the performance framework for the post-2027 MFF, ensuring increased coherence between different Union programmes in monitoring and evaluation.

1.5.5.Assessment of the different available financing options, including scope for redeployment

1.6.Duration of the proposal/initiative and of its financial impact

¨ limited duration

–¨ in effect from [DD/MM]YYYY to [DD/MM]YYYY

–¨ financial impact from YYYY to YYYY for commitment appropriations and from YYYY to YYYY for payment appropriations.

x unlimited duration

–Implementation with a start-up period from YYYY to YYYY,

–followed by full-scale operation.

1.7.Method(s) of budget implementation planned

x Direct management by the Commission

–x by its departments, including by its staff in the Union delegations;

–x by the executive agencies

¨ Shared management with the Member States

x Indirect management by entrusting budget implementation tasks to:

–x third countries or the bodies they have designated

–x international organisations and their agencies (to be specified)

–x the European Investment Bank and the European Investment Fund

–x bodies referred to in Articles 70 and 71 of the Financial Regulation

–x public law bodies

–x bodies governed by private law with a public service mission to the extent that they are provided with adequate financial guarantees

–x bodies governed by the private law of a Member State that are entrusted with the implementation of a public-private partnership and that are provided with adequate financial guarantees

–x bodies or persons entrusted with the implementation of specific actions in the common foreign and security policy pursuant to Title V of the Treaty on European Union, and identified in the relevant basic act

–x bodies established in a Member State, governed by the private law of a Member State or Union law and eligible to be entrusted, in accordance with sector-specific rules, with the implementation of Union funds or budgetary guarantees, to the extent that such bodies are controlled by public law bodies or by bodies governed by private law with a public service mission, and are provided with adequate financial guarantees in the form of joint and several liability by the controlling bodies or equivalent financial guarantees and which may be, for each action, limited to the maximum amount of the Union support.

Comments

External expenditure requires the ability to use all foreseen management modes as relevant and decided during the implementation.

MANAGEMENT MEASURES

2.1.Monitoring and reporting rules

An implementation report will be published by the Commission no later than four years after the start of the programme’s implementation, in order to assess the progress made towards the achievement of their objectives, in line with Regulation (EU, Euratom) [XXX] [Performance Regulation]. A retrospective evaluation will be carried out by the Commission at the latest three years after the end of the MFF period with a view to assessing the effectiveness, efficiency, relevance, coherence and Union added value of the programme.

2.2.Management and control system(s)

2.2.1.Justification of the budget implementation method(s), the funding implementation mechanism(s), the payment modalities and the control strategy proposed

Budget implementation methods

Regarding the management modes, there are no fundamental changes foreseen and the experience acquired by the Commission services and implementing actors under the predecessor programmes will contribute to better results in the future.

The actions to be financed under this Regulation will be implemented under direct management by the Commission from headquarters and/or through the Union delegations and under indirect management by any of the entities listed in article 62(1)(c) of the Financial Regulation in order to better achieve the objectives of the Regulation.

Concerning indirect management, as stated in Article 157 of the Financial Regulation, the Commission must ensure a level of protection of the EU’s financial interests equivalent to the one under direct management. An ex ante pillar assessment of the entities' systems and procedures will be carried out, in accordance with the principle of proportionality and with due consideration for the nature of the action and the financial risks involved. Where the implementation requires so or there have been reservations expressed in Annual Activities Reports, action plans with specific mitigation measures will be defined and implemented. Additionally, appropriate supervisory measures imposed by the Commission may accompany the implementation.

Budget support will also be used.

Innovative financial instruments including in partnership with the European Investment Bank (EIB), Member States’ financial institutions and other international financial institutions will be used for blending activities. The possibility to use trust funds continues to be enabled by the Financial Regulation.

The internal control and management process is designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the achievement of objectives in the effectiveness and efficiency of the operations, the reliability of the financial reporting and compliance with the relevant legislative and procedural framework.

Effectiveness and efficiency

To ensure the effectiveness and efficiency of the operations (and to mitigate the high level of risk in the external assistance environment), in addition to all the elements of the Commission wide strategic policy and planning process, internal audit environment and other requirements of the Commission's Internal Control Framework, the implementing services will continue to have a tailored aid management framework in operation under all the instruments which will include:

– A devolved management of the majority of external assistance by Union delegations in the field.

– Clear and formalised lines of financial accountability (from the Delegated Authorising officer (Director General)) by means of a sub-delegation from the Sub-delegated Authorising Officer (Director) at headquarters to the Head of Delegation;

– Regular reporting from Union Delegations to Headquarters, including an annual Statement of Assurance by the Head of Delegation;

– Provision of a substantial programme of training for staff both at headquarters and in delegations,

– Significant Headquarters/Delegation support and guidance (including via internet);

– Regular supervision missions to Delegations every 3 to 6 years;

– A project and programme cycle management methodology including: quality support tools for the design of the intervention, the delivery method, financing mechanism, management system, assessment and selection of any implementing partners, etc.; programme and project management, monitoring and reporting tools for effective implementation including regular external on-the-spot monitoring of projects; and significant evaluation and audit components. Simplifications will be sought by extending, where appropriate and feasible, the use of simplified cost options. There will be a continuation of a risk-differentiated controls approach in accordance with the underlying risks.

Financial Reporting and Accounting

The implementing services will continue to pursue the highest standards of accounting and financial reporting using the Commission's corporate financial system (SUMMA) as well as external aid specific tools such OPSYS.

In relation to compliance with the relevant legislative and procedural framework, compliance control methods are set out in section 2.3 (measures to prevent fraud and irregularities).

2.2.2.Information concerning the risks identified and the internal control system(s) set up to mitigate them

The operational environment of cooperation under this instrument is characterised by the risks of not achieving the instrument's objectives, sub-optimal financial management and/or of not complying with the applicable rules (legality and regularity errors) related to:

–Economic and political instability and natural disasters and extreme climatic events that may lead to difficulties and delays in the design and implementation of interventions, particularly in fragile states;

–limited institutional and administrative capacity in partner countries that may lead to difficulties and delays in the design and implementation of interventions;

–geographically dispersed interventions (covering approximately many states, territories and regions) may pose logistical and resource challenges to monitoring - particularly any 'on-the-spot' follow-up of activities;

–diversity of potential partners or beneficiaries with their diverse internal control structures and capacities can fragment and therefore reduce the effectiveness and efficiency of the Commission's available resources to support and monitor implementation;

–limited availability of qualititative and quantitative data on the outcomes and impact of external assistance implementation in partner countries may hinder the Commission's ability to report on and be accountable for results.

In order to deal with the risk of financial errors, the Commission will perform the appropriate ex ante and ex post controls. When possible and applicable the performance of systems audits will work as a tool to identify root causes of errors in the entities’ control systems and trigger the necessary mitigating measures.

Moreover, to strengthen its effectiveness in preventing errors, management deficiencies and irregulairies, the Commission is setting up a system for an ongoing targeted risk assessment at contract and at entity level. Key factors increasing the likelihood of a high error rate and a negative impact on sound financial management, in particular linked also to historical data of previous controls and monitoring haven been identified and aggregated in a risk profiling dashboard. The dashboard will provide an important tool to target more effectively future controls, monitoring efforts and other means of mitigation to sensibly reduce the risks of errors, management deficiencies and irregularities.

Given the high risk environment, the systems need to anticipate a significant occurrence of potential compliance errors in transactions and build in a high level of prevention, detection and correction controls as early as possible, before or during, in the payment process. This means in practice that compliance controls will place most reliance on significant ex-ante checks on a multi-annual basis by both external auditors and Commission staff in the field before final project payments (while still executing some ex-post audits), going well beyond the financial safeguards required by the Financial Regulation. This framework include:

–Ex-ante transaction checks performed by Commission staff;

–Audits and verifications (both mandatory and risk based) including the European Court of Auditors;

–Retrospective checks (on a risk basis) and recoveries;

The internal control/management costs planned for the overall (operational + administrative) commitments on the expenditure portfolio financed by the General Budget of the EU for the period 2028-2034 refers only to the costs of the Commission, excluding Member States or entrusted entities. Entrusted entities can withhold up to 7 % for the administration of funds, which could partially be used for control purposes. These management costs take into account all staff at headquarters and in delegations, infrastructure, travel, training, monitoring, evaluation and audit contracts (including those launched by beneficiaries).

While improvements in the nature and targeting of management activities and compliance checks in relation to the portfolio will continue to be pursued, these costs are globally necessary to effectively and efficiently achieve the objectives of the instruments at a minimal risk of non compliance (below 2% residual error). They are significantly less than risks involved in removing or scaling back internal controls in this high risk area.

The compliance objective for the Instrument is on one side to maintain the historic level of risk of non-compliance (error rate) and on the other to at less than 2% the residual 'net' level of error (on a multi-annual basis after all planned controls and corrections have been executed on closed contracts). Where weaknesses are identified, targeted corrective measures will be implemented in the light of ensuring minimum error rates.

2.3.Measures to prevent fraud and irregularities

There are no fundamental changes foreseen in the measures to prevent fraud and irregularities, and the experience acquired by the Commission services and implementing actors under the predecessor programmes will contribute to better results in the future. The Compliance framework is made up inter alia of the following significant components:

Preventative measures

–Compulsory core training covering fraud issues for aid management staff and auditors;

–Provision of guidance (including via internet) including existing manual of procedures such as the Companion, PRAG and the Financial Management Toolkit (for implementing partners);

–Ex-ante assessment to ensure that appropriate anti-fraud measures to prevent and detect fraud in the management of Union funds are in place in the authorities managing the relevant funds under joint and decentralised management);

–Ex-ante screening of the anti-fraud mechanisms available in the partner country as part of the assessment of the eligibility criterion of public finance management for receiving budget support (i.e. active commitment to fight fraud and corruption, adequate inspection authorities, sufficient judicial capacity and efficient response and sanction mechanisms);

–Effective anti-fraud mechanisms to prevent and detect fraud, corruption, and other illegal activities affecting the financial interests of the Union, including cyber-attacks, particularly in relation to new financial instruments such as blending, financing not linked to cost (FNLC), and/or budgetary guarantees, using digital tools and technologies.

Detective and corrective measures

–Suspension of EU funding where there is a serious fraud case, including large scale corruption, until the authorities have taken appropriate action with a view to correcting and preventing such fraud in the future;

–EDES (Early Detection Exclusion System);

–Suspension/termination of contract;

–Exclusion procedure.

Anti-fraud strategies of the services concerned, aligned with the objectives and priorities of the Commission's anti-fraud strategy (CAFS) and its corresponding Action Plan ensures that the systems used for spending EU funds in third countries enable relevant data to be retrieved with a view to feeding this data into fraud risk assessment and management (e.g. double funding, inflation of costs, rigged tender procedures, conflict of interest, collusion); and wherever necessary, networking groups and adequate IT/digital tools aimed at early detection and prevention of fraud risks and fraud cases related to the external aid sector could be set up.

3. ESTIMATED FINANCIAL IMPACT OF THE PROPOSAL/INITIATIVE

3.1.Heading(s) of the multiannual financial framework and expenditure budget line(s) affected

Heading 3 of multiannual financial framework – Neighbourhood and the world	Budget line	Type of expenditure
	Number	Diff./Non-diff.
	07 01 Support expenditure for Global Europe cluster	Non-diff.
	07 01 01 Support expenditure for Global Europe excluding Ukraine	Non-diff.
	07 01 02 Support expenditure for support to Ukraine	Non-diff.
	07 02 Europe Pillar	Diff.
	07 02 01 Enlargement – Preparation for accession	Diff.
	07 02 02 Eastern Neighbourhood - Programmes	Diff.
	07 02 03 Western Europe - Programmes	Diff.
	07 02 04 Support to Ukraine	Diff.
	07 02 10 Europe – Crisis, peace and foreign policy needs	Diff.
	07 02 11 Europe – Humanitarian Aid	Diff.
	07 02 12 Europe – Resilience	Diff.
	07 02 13 Europe - Competitiveness	Diff.
	07 02 14 Europe – MFA grants	Diff.
	07 02 20 Europe – Provisioning of the Common Provisioning Fund	Diff.
	07 02 30 Europe – Territorial and Cross-Border Cooperation	Diff.
	07 03 Middle East, North Africa and the Gulf Pillar	Diff.
	07 03 01 Middle East - Programmes	Diff.
	07 03 02 North Africa - Programmes	Diff.
	07 03 03 The Gulf - Programmes	Diff.
	07 03 10 Middle East, North Africa and the Gulf – Crisis, peace and foreign policy needs	Diff.
	07 03 11 Middle East, North Africa and the Gulf – Humanitarian Aid	Diff.
	07 02 12 Middle East, North Africa and the Gulf – Resilience	Diff.
	07 02 13 Middle East, North Africa and the Gulf – Competitiveness	Diff.
	07 03 14 Middle East, North Africa and the Gulf – MFA grants	Diff.
	07 03 20 Middle East, North Africa and the Gulf – Provisioning of the Common Provisioning Fund	Diff.
	07 03 30 Middle East, North Africa and the Gulf – Territorial and Cross-Border Cooperation	Diff.
	07 04 Sub-Saharan Africa Pillar	Diff.
	07 04 01 West Africa - Programmes	Diff.
	07 04 02 East and Central Africa Programmes	Diff.
	07 04 03 Southern Africa and Indian Ocean - Programmes	Diff.
	07 04 10 Sub-Saharan Africa – Crisis, peace and foreign policy needs	Diff.
	07 04 11 Sub-Saharan Africa – Humanitarian Aid	Diff.
	07 04 12 Sub-Saharan Africa – Resilience	Diff.
	07 04 13 Sub-Saharan Africa – Competitiveness	Diff.
	07 04 14 Sub-Saharan Africa – MFA grants	Diff.
	07 04 20 Sub-Saharan Africa – Provisioning of the Common Provisioning Fund	Diff.
	07 05 Asia and the Pacific Pillar	Diff.
	07 05 01 Central Asia - Programmes	Diff.
	07 05 02 South and East Asia - Programmes	Diff.
	07 05 03 The Pacific - Programmes	Diff.
	07 05 10 Asia and the Pacific – Crisis, peace and foreign policy needs	Diff.
	07 05 11 Asia and the Pacific – Humanitarian Aid	Diff.
	07 05 12 Asia and the Pacific – Resilience	Diff.
	07 05 13 Asia and the Pacific - Competitiveness	Diff.
	07 05 14 Asia and the Pacific – MFA grants	Diff.
	07 05 20 Asia and the Pacific – Provisioning of the Common Provisioning Fund	Diff.
	07 06 Americas and the Caribbean Pillar	Diff.
	07 06 01 Americas - Programmes	Diff.
	07 06 02 The Caribbean - Programmes	Diff.
	07 06 10 Americas and the Caribbean – Crisis, peace and foreign policy needs	Diff.
	07 06 11 Americas and the Caribbean – Humanitarian Aid	Diff.
	07 06 12 Americas and the Caribbean – Resilience	Diff.
	07 06 13 Americas and the Caribbean - Competitiveness	Diff.
	07 06 14 Americas and the Caribbean – MFA grants	Diff.
	07 06 20 Americas and the Caribbean – Provisioning of the Common Provisioning Fund	Diff.
	07 07 Global Pillar	Diff.
	07 07 01 Global Programmes	Diff.
	07 07 10 Global - Crisis, peace and foreign policy needs	Diff.
	07 07 11 Global – Humanitarian Aid	Diff.
	07 07 12 Global - Resilience	Diff.
	07 07 13 Global - Competitiveness	Diff.
	07 08 Emerging challenges and priorities cushion	Diff.
	07 09 Completion of previous external action programmes	Diff.
	07 09 99 Completion of previous actions	Diff.
	07 09 99 01 Completion of previous actions under the Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument	Diff.
	07 09 99 02 Completion of previous actions under Humanitarian Aid	Diff.
	07 09 99 03 Completion of previous actions under the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance	Diff.
	07 09 99 04 Completion of previous actions under the Reform and Growth Facility for Western Balkans	Diff.
	07 09 99 05 Completion of previous actions under the Ukraine Facility	Diff.

[1] Diff. = Differentiated appropriations / Non-diff. = Non-differentiated appropriations.

3.2.Estimated financial impact of the proposal on appropriations

3.2.1. Summary of estimated impact on operational appropriations

–¨ The proposal/initiative does not require the use of operational appropriations

–x The proposal/initiative requires the use of operational appropriations, as explained below

3.2.1.1. Appropriations from voted budget

EUR million (to three decimal places)

Heading of multiannual financial framework

Neighbourhood and the world

			TOTAL MFF 2028-2034
Operational appropriations
07 02 (Europe Pillar)	Commitments	(1a)	43,174
	Payments	(2a)	p.m.
07 03 (Middle East, North Africa and the Gulf Pillar)	Commitments	(1b)	42,934
	Payments	(2b)	p.m.
07 04 (Sub-Saharan Africa Pillar)	Commitments	(1c)	60,531
	Payments	(2c)	p.m.
07 05 (Asia and the Pacific Pillar)	Commitments	(1d)	17,050
	Payments	(2d)	p.m.
07 06 (Americas and the Caribbean Pillar)	Commitments	(1e)	9,144
	Payments	(2e)	p.m.
07 07 (Global Pillar)	Commitments	(1f)	12,668
	Payments	(2f)	p.m.
07 08 (Emerging challenges and priorities cushion)	Commitments	(1g)	14,808
	Payments	(2g)	p.m.
Appropriations of an administrative nature financed from the envelope of the programme
07 01 (Support expenditure for the Global Europe cluster)		(3)	pm
TOTAL appropriations	Commitments	=1a+1b+1c+1d+1e+1f+1g+3	200,309
	Payments	=2a+2b+2c+2d+2e+2f+2g+3	p.m.

Out of the Total appropriations above, an indicative amount of EUR 25 000 000 000 will be dedicated to finance Humanitarian Aid actions. Considering that humanitarian aid is unprogrammable and needs-driven tool, the allocations per pillar are to be determined at a later stage, including through the annual budget procedure.

TOTAL MFF 2028-2034

TOTAL operational appropriations

Commitments

(4)

p.m.

Payments

(5)

p.m.

TOTAL appropriations of an administrative nature financed from the envelope for specific programmes

(6)

p.m.

TOTAL appropriations under HEADING 3

Commitments

=4+6

200,309

of the multiannual financial framework

Payments

=5+6

p.m.

Heading of multiannual financial framework

4

‘Administrative expenditure’

DG: <…….>

Year

Year

Year

Year

Year

Year

Year

TOTAL MFF 2028-2034

2028

2029

2030

2031

2032

2033

2034

Ÿ Human resources

424.786

424.786

424.786

424.786

424.786

424.786

424.786

2973.502

Ÿ Other administrative expenditure

81.177

81.177

81.177

81.177

81.177

81.177

81.177

568.242

TOTAL DG <…….>

505.963

505.963

505.963

505.963

505.963

505.963

505.963

3541.744

DG: <…….>

Year

Year

Year

Year

Year

Year

Year

TOTAL MFF 2028-2034

2028

2029

2030

2031

2032

2033

2034

Ÿ Human resources

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

Ÿ Other administrative expenditure

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

TOTAL DG <…….>

Appropriations

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

TOTAL appropriations under HEADING 4 of the multiannual financial framework

(Total commitments = Total payments)

505.963

505.963

505.963

505.963

505.963

505.963

505.963

3541.744

EUR million (to three decimal places)

		Year	Year	Year	Year	Year	Year	Year	TOTAL MFF 2028-2034
		2028	2029	2030	2031	2032	2033	2034
TOTAL appropriations under HEADINGS 1 to 4	Commitments	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
of the multiannual financial framework	Payments	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

3.2.1.2. Appropriations from external assigned revenues

EUR million (to three decimal places)

Heading of multiannual financial framework

Number

DG: <…….>			Year	Year			Year	Year	Year	Year	Year	TOTAL MFF 2028-2034
			2028	2029			2030	2031	2032	2033	2034
Operational appropriations
Budget line	Commitments	(1a)										0
	Payments	(2a)										0
Budget line	Commitments	(1b)										0
	Payments	(2b)										0
Appropriations of an administrative nature financed from the envelope of specific programmes
Budget line		(3)										0
TOTAL appropriations	Commitments	=1a+1b+3			0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
for DG <…….>	Payments	=2a+2b+3			0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

			Year	Year	Year	Year	Year	Year	Year	TOTAL MFF 2028-2034
			2028	2029	2030	2031	2032	2033	2034
TOTAL operational appropriations	Commitments	(4)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Payments	(5)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
TOTAL appropriations of an administrative nature financed from the envelope for specific programmes		(6)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
TOTAL appropriations under HEADING <….>	Commitments	=4+6	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
of the multiannual financial framework	Payments	=5+6	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Heading of multiannual financial framework

‘Administrative expenditure’

EUR million (to three decimal places)

DG: <…….>			Year	Year	Year	Year	Year	Year	Year	TOTAL MFF 2028-2034
			2028	2029	2030	2031	2032	2033	2034
Ÿ Human resources			0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Ÿ Other administrative expenditure			0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
TOTAL DG <…….>	Appropriations		0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

DG: <…….>			Year	Year	Year	Year	Year	Year	Year	TOTAL MFF 2028-2024
			2028	2029	2030	2031	2032	2033	2034
Ÿ Human resources			0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Ÿ Other administrative expenditure			0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
TOTAL DG <…….>	Appropriations		0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

TOTAL appropriations under HEADING 4 of the multiannual financial framework		(Total commitments = Total payments)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

EUR million (to three decimal places)

		Year	Year	Year	Year	Year	Year	Year	TOTAL MFF 2028-2034
		2028	2029	2030	2031	2032	2033	2034
TOTAL appropriations under HEADINGS 1 to 7	Commitments	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
of the multiannual financial framework	Payments	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

3.2.3. Summary of estimated impact on administrative appropriations

–¨ The proposal/initiative does not require the use of appropriations of an administrative nature

–¨ The proposal/initiative requires the use of appropriations of an administrative nature, as explained below

3.2.3.1. Appropriations from voted budget

VOTED APPROPRIATIONS	Year	Year	Year	Year	Year	Year	Year	TOTAL 2028 - 2034
	2028	2029	2030	2031	2032	2033	2034
HEADING 4
Human resources	424.786	424.786	424.786	424.786	424.786	424.786	424.786	2.973.502
Other administrative expenditure	81.177	81.177	81.177	81.177	81.177	81.177	81.177	568.242
Subtotal HEADING 4	505.963	505.963	505.963	505.963	505.963	505.963	505.963	3.541.744
Outside HEADING 4
Human resources	453.486	453.486	453.486	453.486	453.486	453.486	453.486	3.174.402
Other expenditure of an administrative nature	p.m.	p.m.	p.m.	p.m.	p.m.	p.m.	p.m.	p.m.
Subtotal outside HEADING 4	453.486	453.486	453.486	453.486	453.486	453.486	453.486	3.174.402

TOTAL	959.449	959.449	959.449	959.449	959.449	959.449	959.449	6.716.146

3.2.3.3. Total appropriations

TOTAL VOTED APPROPRIATIONS + EXTERNAL ASSIGNED REVENUES		Year	Year	Year	Year	Year	Year	Year	TOTAL 2028 - 2034
		2028	2029	2030	2031	2032	2033	2034
	HEADING 4
Human resources		424.786	424.786	424.786	424.786	424.786	424.786	424.786	2.973.502
Other administrative expenditure		81.177	81.177	81.177	81.177	81.177	81.177	81.177	568.242
Subtotal HEADING 4		505.963	505.963	505.963	505.963	505.963	505.963	505.963	3.541.744
Outside HEADING 4
Human resources		453.486	453.486	453.486	453.486	453.486	453.486	453.486	3.174.402
Other expenditure of an administrative nature		0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000
Subtotal outside HEADING 4		453.486	453.486	453.486	453.486	453.486	453.486	453.486	3.174.402

TOTAL		959.449	959.449	959.449	959.449	959.449	959.449	959.449	6.716.146

The appropriations required for human resources and other expenditure of an administrative nature will be met by appropriations from the DG that are already assigned to management of the action and/or have been redeployed within the DG, together, if necessary, with any additional allocation which may be granted to the managing DG under the annual allocation procedure and in the light of budgetary constraints.

3.2.4. Estimated requirements of human resources

–¨ The proposal/initiative does not require the use of human resources

–¨ The proposal/initiative requires the use of human resources, as explained below

3.2.4.1. Financed from voted budget

Estimate to be expressed in full-time equivalent units (FTEs)

VOTED APPROPRIATIONS

Year

Year

Year

Year

Year

Year

Year

2028

2029

2030

2031

2032

2033

2034

Ÿ Establishment plan posts (officials and temporary staff)

20 01 02 01 (Headquarters and Commission’s Representation Offices)

1 347

1 347

1 347

1 347

1 347

1 347

1 347

20 01 02 03 (EU Delegations)

469

469

469

469

469

469

469

01 01 01 01 (Indirect research)

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

01 01 01 11 (Direct research)

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

Other budget lines (specify)

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

• External staff (inFTEs)

20 02 01 (AC, END from the ‘global envelope’)

208

208

208

208

208

208

208

20 02 03 (AC, AL, END and JPD in the EU Delegations)

42

42

42

42

42

42

42

Support line

- at Headquarters

786

786

786

786

786

786

786

[XX.01.YY.YY]

- in EU Delegations

2 580

2 580

2 580

2 580

2 580

2 580

2 580

01 01 01 02 (AC, END - Indirect research)

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

01 01 01 12 (AC, END - Direct research)

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

Other budget lines (specify) - Heading 4

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

Other budget lines (specify) - Outside Heading 4

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

TOTAL

5 432

5 432

5 432

5 432

5 432

5 432

5 432

3.2.4.3. Total requirements of human resources

TOTAL VOTED APPROPRIATIONS + EXTERNAL ASSIGNED REVENUES		Year	Year	Year	Year	Year	Year	Year
		2028	2029	2030	2031	2032	2033	2034
Ÿ Establishment plan posts (officials and temporary staff)
20 01 02 01 (Headquarters and Commission’s Representation Offices)		1 347	1 347	1 347	1 347	1 347	1 347	1 347
20 01 02 03 (EU Delegations)		469	469	469	469	469	469	469
01 01 01 01 (Indirect research)		0	0	0	0	0	0	0
01 01 01 11 (Direct research)		0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Other budget lines (specify)		0	0	0	0	0	0	0
• External staff (in full time equivalent units)
20 02 01 (AC, END from the ‘global envelope’)		208	208	208	208	208	208	208
20 02 03 (AC, AL, END and JPD in the EU Delegations)		42	42	42	42	42	42	42
Support line	- at Headquarters	786	786	786	786	786	786	786
[XX.01.YY.YY]	- in EU Delegations	2 580	2 580	2 580	2 580	2 580	2 580	2 580
01 01 01 02 (AC, END - Indirect research)		0	0	0	0	0	0	0
01 01 01 12 (AC, END - Direct research)		0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Other budget lines (specify) - Heading 7		0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Other budget lines (specify) - Outside Heading 7		0	0	0	0	0	0	0
TOTAL		5 432	5 432	5 432	5 432	5 432	5 432	5 432

The staff required to implement the proposal (in FTEs):

	To be covered by current staff available in the Commission services	Exceptional additional staff
		To be financed under Heading 4 or Research	To be financed from BA line	To be financed from fees
Establishment plan posts	1 675	141	N/A
External staff (CA, SNEs, INT)	3 302	-	314

Description of tasks to be carried out by:

Officials and temporary staff
External staff

3.2.5. Overview of estimated impact on digital technology-related investments

Compulsory: the best estimate of the digital technology-related investments entailed by the proposal/initiative should be included in the table below.

Exceptionally, when required for the implementation of the proposal/initiative, the appropriations under Heading 4 should be presented in the designated line.

The appropriations under Headings 1-3 should be reflected as “Policy IT expenditure on operational programmes”. This expenditure refers to the operational budget to be used to re-use/ buy/ develop IT platforms/ tools directly linked to the implementation of the initiative and their associated investments (e.g. licences, studies, data storage etc). The information provided in this table should be consistent with details presented under Section 4 “Digital dimensions”.

TOTAL Digital and IT appropriations	Year	Year	Year	Year	Year	Year	Year	TOTAL MFF 2028 - 2034
	2028	2029	2030	2031	2032	2033	2034
HEADING 4
IT expenditure * (corporate)	44.542	44.542	44.542	44.542	44.542	44.542	44.542	311.797
Subtotal HEADING 4	44.542	44.542	44.542	44.542	44.542	44.542	44.542	311.797
Outside HEADING 4
Policy IT expenditure on operational programmes	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Subtotal outside HEADING 4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

TOTAL	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

The corporate IT expenditure under Heading 4 is calculated by multiplying the FTEs by EUR 8 200 per FTE

3.2.6. Compatibility with the current multiannual financial framework

The proposal/initiative:

–¨ can be fully financed through redeployment within the relevant heading of the multiannual financial framework (MFF)

–¨ requires use of the unallocated margin under the relevant heading of the MFF and/or use of the special instruments as defined in the MFF Regulation

–¨ requires a revision of the MFF

3.2.7. Third-party contributions

The proposal/initiative:

–¨ does not provide for co-financing by third parties

–¨ provides for the co-financing by third parties estimated below:

Appropriations in EUR million (to three decimal places)

	Year	Year	Year	Year	Year	Year	Year	Total
	2028	2029	2030	2031	2032	2033	2034
Specify the co-financing body
TOTAL appropriations co-financed

[1] Outputs are products and services to be supplied (e.g. number of student exchanges financed, number of km of roads built, etc.).

[2] As described in Section 1.3.2. ‘Specific objective(s)’

3.3.Estimated impact on revenue

4.Digital dimensions

4.1.Requirements of digital relevance

4.2.Data

4.3.Digital solutions

4.4.Interoperability assessment

4.5.Measures to support digital implementation

(1) Communication (COM/2025/46 final) from the Commission to the European Parliament, the European Council and the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions – “The road to the next multiannual financial framework”.

(2) Regulation (EU) No …/… of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing a budget expenditure tracking and performance framework and other horizontal rules for the Union programmes and activities (OJ […], […], p. […]).

(3) Council Regulation (EC) No 1257/96 concerning humanitarian aid (OJ L 163, 2.7.1996, p. 1–6, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/1996/1257/oj ).

(4) Council Decision (EU) 2021/1764 of 5 October 2021 on the association of the Overseas Countries and Territories with the European Union including relations between the European Union on the one hand, and Greenland and the Kingdom of Denmark on the other (Decision on the Overseas Association, including Greenland) (OJ L 355, 7.10.2021, p. 6, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/dec/2021/1764/oj).

(5) Evaluation of the EU's External Financing Instruments for the 2014 - 2020 and 2021 - 2027 Multiannual Financial Frameworks; Register of Commission Documents - COM(2024)208. This evaluation consisted of both the mid-term evaluation of the EU’s External Financing Instruments of the 2021-2027 MFF and the final evaluation of the 2014-2020 MFF External Financing Instruments.

(6) “Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”, adopted at the United Nations Sustainable Development Summit on 25 September 2015 (A/RES/70/1).

(7) Council Decision (EU) 2016/1841 of 5 October 2016 on the conclusion, on behalf of the European Union, of the Paris Agreement adopted under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

(8) “The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework”, adopted by the 15th conference of Parties (COP 15) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) on 19 December 2022.

(9) “Addis Ababa Action Agenda of the Third International Conference on Financing for Development”, adopted on 16 June 2015 and endorsed by the United Nations General Assembly on 27 July 2015 (A/RES/69/313).

(10) “Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction”, adopted on 18 March 2015 and endorsed by the United Nations General Assembly on 3 June 2015 (A/RES/69/283).

(11) “Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence”, (CETS No. 210) entered into force on 1 August 2014, https://www.coe.int/en/web/conventions/full-list?module=treaty-detail&treatynum=210 .

(12) “The Pact for the Future”, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on 22 September 2024 (A/RES/79/1).

(13) Financing for European action outside EU borders – evaluation of the instruments (2014-2020 & 2021-2027) .

(14) Evaluation of the European Union's external financing instruments (2014-2020 and 2021-2027) (Annexes), p. 101.

(15) Evaluation of the European Union's external financing instruments (2014-2020 and 2021-2027); Independent study in support of the evaluation Volume I, Synthesis report, Publications Office of the European Union .

(16) The main elements of the Board’s opinion and the associated modifications made to the impact assessment are further described in annex 1 of the impact assessment.

(17) Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 September 2024 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union (OJ L, 2024/2509, 26.9.2024, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2024/2509/oj).

(18) OJ L.., p..

(19) OJ L.., p.

(20) Council Decision 2010/427/EU of 26 July 2010 establishing the organisation and functioning of the European External Action Service ( OJ L 201, 3.8.2010, p. 30 , ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/dec/2010/427/oj).

(21) Council Regulation (EC) No 1257/96 of 20 June 1996 concerning humanitarian aid (OJ L 163, 2.7.1996, p. 1–6, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/1996/1257/oj ).

(22) Regulation (EU) 2021/947 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 June 2021 establishing the Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument – Global Europe, amending and repealing Decision No 466/2014/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council and repealing Regulation (EU) 2017/1601 of the European Parliament and of the Council and Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 480/2009 (OJ L 209, 14.6.2021, p. 1–78, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2021/947/oj ).

(23) Regulation (EU) 2021/1529 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 September 2021 establishing the Instrument for Pre-Accession assistance (IPA III) (OJ L 330, 20.9.2021, p. 1–26, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2021/1529/oj ).

(24) Regulation (EU) 2024/792 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 February 2024 establishing the Ukraine Facility (OJ L, 2024/792, 29.2.2024, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2024/792/oj ).

(25) Regulation (EU) 2024/1449 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 May 2024 on establishing the Reform and Growth Facility for the Western Balkans (OJ L, 2024/1449, 24.5.2024, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2024/1449/oj ).

(26) Regulation (EU) 2025/535 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 March 2025 establishing the Reform and Growth Facility for the Republic of Moldova (OJ L, 2025/535, 21.3.2025, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2025/535/oj ).

(27) Joint Communication (JOIN/2021/30 final) to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee, the Committee of the Regions and the European Investment Bank - The Global Gateway.

(28) Communication (COM/2025/148 final) from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions on ProtectEU: a European Internal Security Strategy.

(29) “Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction”, adopted on 18 March 2015 and endorsed by the United Nations General Assembly on 3 June 2015 (A/RES/69/283).

(30) "Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development", adopted at the United Nations Sustainable Development Summit on 25 September 2015 (A/RES/70/1).

(31) Regulation (EU) No [XXX] of the European Parliament and of the Council on establishing the European Competitiveness Fund (‘ECF’), including the specific programme for defence research and innovation activities, and repealing Regulations (EU) 2021/522, (EU) 2021/694, (EU) 2021/696, (EU) 2021/697, (EU) 2021/783, (EU) 2023/588, (EU) 2023/1525, (EU) 2023/2418, (EU) (EDIP) (OJ L.., p.)

(32) Regulation (EU) No [XXX] of the European Parliament and of the Council on establishing the Connecting Europe Facility for the period 2028-2034, amending Regulation (EU) 2024/1679 and repealing Regulation (EU) 2021/1153 (OJ […], […], p. […]).

(33) Council Decision (EU) 2021/1764 of 5 October 2021 on the association of the Overseas Countries and Territories with the European Union including relations between the European Union on the one hand, and Greenland and the Kingdom of Denmark on the other (Decision on the Overseas Association, including Greenland) (OJ L 355, 7.10.2021, p. 6, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/dec/2021/1764/oj ).

(34) Council Regulation (Euratom) [XXX] of [ establishing the European Instrument for International Nuclear Safety Cooperation and Decommissioning and repealing Regulations (Euratom) 2021/100 and (Euratom) 2021/948 (OJ […], […], p. […]).

(35) Council Decision (CFSP) 2021/509 of 22 March 2021 establishing a European Peace Facility, and repealing Decision (CFSP) 2015/528 (OJ L 102, 24.3.2021, p. 14–62)

(36) Council Regulation (EU, Euratom) …/… of … laying down the multiannual financial framework for the years 2028 to 2034 (OJ L.., p.).

(37) Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 September 2024 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union (OJ L, 2024/2509, 26.9.2024, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2024/2509/oj ).

(38) Council Decision (EU) 2016/1841 of 5 October 2016 on the conclusion, on behalf of the European Union, of the Paris Agreement adopted under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (OJ L 282, 19.10.2016, p. 1–3, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/dec/2016/1841/oj).

(39) “The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework”, adopted by the 15th conference of Parties (COP 15) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) on 19 December 2022.

(40) “Addis Ababa Action Agenda of the Third International Conference on Financing for Development”, adopted on 16 June 2015 and endorsed by the United Nations General Assembly on 27 July 2015 (A/RES/69/313).

(41) “The Pact for the Future”, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on 22 September 2024 (A/RES/79/1).

(42) Council Decision (EU) 2023/2861 of 20 July 2023 on the signing, on behalf of the European Union, and provisional application of the Partnership Agreement between the European Union and its Member States, of the one part, and the Members of the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States, of the other part (OJ L, 2023/2861, 28.12.2023, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/dec/2023/2861/oj).

(43) Communication (COM/2025/97 final) from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions - A Roadmap for Women's Rights.

(44) Communication (COM/2020/152 final) from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions – A Union of Equality: Gender Equality Strategy 2020-2025.

(45) “Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence”, (CETS No. 210) entered into force on 1 August 2014, https://www.coe.int/en/web/conventions/full-list?module=treaty-detail&treatynum=210.

(46) Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), entered into force on 3 May 2008 https://social.desa.un.org/issues/disability/crpd/convention-on-the-rights-of-persons-with-disabilities-crpd#Fulltext .

(47) Communication (COM/2025/281 final) from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions – The European Ocean Pact.

(48) Regulation (EU) 2020/852 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 June 2020 on the establishment of a framework to facilitate sustainable investment, and amending Regulation (EU) 2019/2088 (OJ L 198, 22.6.2020, p. 13–43, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2020/852/oj ).

(49) Joint Communication (JOIN/2025/140 final) to the European Parliament and the Council – An International Digital Strategy for the European Union.

(50) Communication (COM/2025/30 final) from the Commission to the European Parliament, the European Council, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions - A Competitiveness Compass for the EU.

(51) Joint Communication (JOIN/2024/25 final) to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee, the Committee of the Regions and the European Investment Bank - Building sustainable international partnerships as a Team Europe.

(52) Joint Communication (JOIN/2020/5 final) to the European Parliament and the Council - EU Action Plan on Human Rights and Democracy 2020-2024.

(53) Communication (COM/2025/90 final) from the Commission to the European Parliament, the European Council, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions - The Union of Skills.

(54) Regulation (EU) [XXX] of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing the Erasmus+ programme for the period 2028-2034, and repealing Regulations (EU) 2021/817 and (EU) 2021/888 (OJ L..p.).

(55) Regulation (EU) 2017/1601 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 September 2017 establishing the European Fund for Sustainable Development (EFSD), the EFSD Guarantee and the EFSD Guarantee Fund (OJ L 249, 27.9.2017, p. 1–16, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2017/1601/oj).

(56) Interinstitutional Agreement between the European Parliament, the Council of the European Union and the European Commission on Better Law-Making (OJ L 123, 12.5.2016, p. 1–14, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/agree_interinstit/2016/512/oj ).

(57) Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 February 2011 laying down the rules and general principles concerning mechanisms for control by Member States of the Commission’s exercise of implementing powers (OJ L 55, 28.2.2011, p. 13–18, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2011/182/oj ).

(58) Regulation (EU) No [XXX] of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing a budget expenditure tracking and performance framework and other horizontal rules for the Union programmes and activities. (OJ […], […], p. […]).

(59) Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 883/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 September 2013 concerning investigations conducted by the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1073/1999 of the European Parliament and of the Council and Council Regulation (Euratom) No 1074/1999 (OJ L 248, 18.9.2013, p. 1, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2013/883/2021-01-17 ).

(60) Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2988/95 of 18 December 1995 on the protection of the European Communities financial interests (OJ L 312, 23.12.95, p. 1, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/1995/2988/1995-12-23 ).

(61) Council Regulation (Euratom, EC) No 2185/96 of 11 November 1996 concerning on-the-spot checks and inspections carried out by the Commission in order to protect the European Communities' financial interests against fraud and other irregularities (OJ L 292,15.11.96, p. 2, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/1996/2185/oj ).

(62) Council Regulation (EU) 2017/1939 of 12 October 2017 implementing enhanced cooperation on the establishment of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (‘the EPPO’) (OJ L283, 31.10.2017, p. 1, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2017/1939/2021-01-10 ).

(63) Directive (EU) 2017/1371 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 July 2017 on the fight against fraud to the Union's financial interests by means of criminal law (OJ L 198, 28.7.2017, p. 29, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/dir/2017/1371/oj ).

(64) This designation is without prejudice to positions on status and is in line with UNSCR 1244/1999 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo declaration of independence.

(65) Regulation (EU) No [XXX] of the European Parliament and of the Council on establishing Horizon Europe, the Framework Programme for Research and Innovation, for the period 2028-2034 laying down its rules for participation and dissemination, and repealing Regulation (EU) 2021/695 (OJ L.., p.).

(66) Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action https://www.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/Headquarters/Attachments/Sections/CSW/PFA_E_Final_WEB.pdf .

(67) Regulation (EC) No 810/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 July 2009 establishing a Community Code on Visas (Visa Code) (OJ L 243, 15.9.2009, p. 1–58, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2009/810/2024-06-28 ).

(68) Regulation (EU) 2018/1806 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 November 2018 listing the third countries whose nationals must be in possession of visas when crossing the external borders and those whose nationals are exempt from that requirement (OJ L 303, 28.11.2018, p. 39–58, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2018/1806/2025-02-03 ).

(69) Regulation (EU) 2022/1031 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 June 2022 on the access of third-country economic operators, goods and services to the Union’s public procurement and concession markets and procedures supporting negotiations on access of Union economic operators, goods and services to the public procurement and concession markets of third countries (International Procurement Instrument – IPI) (OJ L 173, 30.6.2022, p. 1–16, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2022/1031/oj).

(70) Council Regulation (EC) No 1085/2006 of 17 July 2006 establishing an Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA) (OJ L 210, 31.7.2006, p. 82–93, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2006/1085/oj ).

(71) Regulation (EU) No 231/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 March 2014 establishing an Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance (IPA II) (OJ L 77, 15.3.2014, p. 11–26, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2014/231/oj).

(72) As referred to in Article 58(2), point (a) or (b) of the Financial Regulation.