A step was taken, on Thursday 18 March, towards the adoption of the Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument (NDICI) in the 2021-2027 EU budget.
The European Parliament’s Committees on Foreign Affairs and on Development approved (76 votes in favour, 13 against and 4 abstentions) the text finalising the political agreement reached in December 2020 by the Parliament and the EU Council (see EUROPE 12680/18, 12626/19).
The NDICI streamlines the EU’s external assistance by merging ten existing regulations and the European Development Fund (EDF) into one tool.
With a budget of €79.5 billion (€70.8 billion at 2018 prices), the NDICI is designed to support EU foreign policy and sustainable development in partner countries.
The geographical envelope (€60.388 billion) will cover partnerships with the European Neighbourhood (at least €19.323 billion), Sub-Saharan Africa (at least €29.181 billion), Asia and the Pacific (€8.489 billion), the Americas and the Caribbean (€3.395 billion).
Indicative amounts have been defined for the Pacific (at least €500 million) and Caribbean (at least €800 million) regions.
The thematic envelope (€6.358 billion) will fund actions related to the global Sustainable Development Goals, strengthen programmes to promote human rights, democracy and civil society, and help address global challenges such as climate change, migration, stability, peace and conflict prevention.
€3.18 billion is foreseen for rapid response actions.
A ‘cushion’ of unallocated funds of €9.53 billion could complement any of the thematic programmes and the Rapid Reaction Mechanism, to address unforeseen circumstances, new needs or emerging challenges and to promote new priorities.
The text is accompanied by a Commission declaration recording its commitment to a high-level geopolitical dialogue with the European Parliament on the implementation of the NDICI and to take full account of the European Parliament’s positions.
In a note, the EU Council says it wants to have more power to give political steer on how the money will be used.
Migration was not part of the December political agreement. The finalised text mentions that indicatively 10% of the NDICI financial envelope will be dedicated particularly to actions supporting management and governance of irregular migration and forced displacement, and also to actions addressing their root causes.
A Commission statement says that “regional programmes in support of migration will support comprehensive, balanced and tailor-made partnerships with relevant countries of origin or transit and host countries following a flexible incentive approach and supported by the NDICI coordination mechanism. They will be complemented by actions under national programmes, where appropriate”.
The final vote in the European Parliament is expected in June. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)