Under the Team Europe framework, the European Architecture for Development (EFAD) has undergone changes aimed at improving capacity through enhanced synergies and political steering. Although the Team Europe approach emerged as a response to the COVID-19 crisis, it has overlapped with an intense debate on the fragmentation of the EFAD; the entry into force of the new multiannual financial framework, the enhancement of the EU External Investment Plan and other political factors that have provided momentum to the old idea of better working together.
This ongoing evolution is the topic of continuing discussion and review, including by the European Parliament’s Committee on Development (DEVE), who are actively considering the roles and alignment of the EFAD’s institutions. To contribute to this review process, ECOPER consultant Aitor Pérez has produced a briefing at the request of the DEVE ahead of a workshop to be held this month, during which the topic will be discussed. The briefing contributes to the discussion on the EFAD’s ongoing evolution, reviewing the roles of the EIB, the EBRD and member states’ DFIs from the perspective of EFAD’s overall performance. It does so by drawing on key documents and data published by these institutions and by the EC in the context of its External Investment Plan and Team Europe. After assessing the extent to which the featured institutions respond to EU expectations, in terms of development orientation and EU global influence, the paper concludes with some recommendations on how to optimise the contribution of each institution to overall EFAD performance, and how this process should be followed within the European Parliament and its Development Committee.