European Union

Established in 1958 originally as the European Economic Community (EEC), the European Union (EU) is a political and economic union of 27 sovereign states in Europe (in 1993, the EEC changed its name to the EU). The EU seeks to drive sustainable development, peace, and economic integration. It works with ADB to promote human rights and good governance, health, education, sustainable agriculture and food security, environment and clean energy, food and agriculture, and cross-border cooperation in human and animal health.

The European Commission, the executive arm of the EU, requires partner organizations to pass institutional compliance assessments, called Pillar Assessment, before using indirect management cooperation with them. The Pillar Assessment comprises up to nine pillars. ADB has gone through the assessment applicable to multilateral development banks (Pillars 4, 7, 8, and 9), and the results received were all positive.

In January 2023, ADB and the EU signed the Financial Framework Partnership Agreement (FFPA) with the commitment to contribute to the effective delivery of development assistance and economic, financial, and technical assistance. Both commit to promoting the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and supporting partner countries’ efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. Then, in June, ADB discussed with EU officials the (i) actions following the signing of the FFPA, (ii) EU priorities, including their Global Gateway Program focused on the Indo-Pacific and Central Asia, (iii) ADB’s evolution, and (iv) ADB’s climate agenda and initiatives.

In November 2023, ADB and the European Training Foundation (ETF) signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU). The MOU establishes a cooperative framework enabling both institutions to advance human capital development through education, training, and social inclusion initiatives. The agreement, which promotes the sharing of technical and knowledge expertise, aims to assist developing member countries in Central and West Asia in strengthening their human capital base with modernized skills frameworks and labor outcomes. The ETF is an EU agency that helps neighboring countries reform their education and training systems as part of EU external relations policies.

Highlights

Sovereign Cofinancing. Since the start of ADB’s sovereign cofinancing operations in 1970, the EU has been the top grant cofinancier among multilateral partners for investment and technical assistance (TA) projects, with a total of $972.8 million for 68 projects.

In 2023, the EU committed a total of $20.3 million in grant cofinancing for two investment projects and one TA project, of which $15.4 million was to support Nepal in reforming its school education system.

Trust Funds. In August 2023, ADB and the EU, represented by the European Commission, signed the restated and amended agreement to establish the EU–ASEAN Catalytic Green Finance Facility Trust Fund with a contribution of $58.5 million. The fund will support ADB’s developing member countries in Southeast Asia in transitioning to low-emission, climate-resilient infrastructure development.

Knowledge. In November 2023, ADB hosted the annual meeting of the International Financial Institution Community of Practice for Knowledge Management in Washington, DC, attended by multilateral development banks and international organizations, including the EU. The representatives discussed strategic alignment of knowledge management with organizational business goals, shared good practices for developing new capabilities in climate change and addressing key challenges, particularly related to artificial intelligence enterprise adoption.