Policy Updates

On April 11, 2024, the European Commission and the Belgian Council Presidency hosted the Global Gateway High-Level Event on Education.

Grounded in EU pledges from the 2022 TES, the program prioritized green and digital learning, teaching quality, and finance for education among others. Notably, FLN, one of the key foci of the 2022 TES, did not feature in the agenda.

In addition to high-level meetings and discussions, the event included EUR245 million (US$264 million) several pledges from the EU, including:

• EUR110 million (US$119 million) for implementation of Zambia's National Development Plan and Free Education Initiative, which aim to improve quality of early, primary, and secondary education and increase the attendance and completion rates of girls in school;
• EUR75 million (US$81 million) co-financed by the EU and Team Europe for employment-related skills and vocational training with a focus on women and girls' education in SSA. Specific partner countries were not named;
• EUR15 million (US$16 million) and EUR27 million (US$29 million) were allocated to youth mobility projects with a focus on EU-Africa mobility and intra-African mobility and green skills, respectively; and
• EUR18 million (US$20 million) for building research capacity related to medicines and vaccines in Nigeria.

On March 6, 2024, the EU announced EUR228 million (US$236 million) in support for projects in Uganda during a high-level business meeting.

With a primary focus on business and economic development, the initiatives also touched on topics including housing, human rights, digital infrastructure, gender equality, and agriculture:

• EUR40 million (US$43 million) was provided for the "Investing in Young Women-Led Entrepreneurs Business in Africa," which was reported as an effort to increase women's economic empowerment in partners across SSA, though specific partner countries were not listed in the press release;
• EUR50 million (US$54 million) was loaned to Uganda with the aim of increasing youth and women's employment while increasing access to jobs in sustainability;
• The EIB announced an EUR25 million (US$27 million) loan for the development of SMEs and aimed for 50% of support to benefit women-led businesses;
• EUR5 million (US$5 million) was also allocated to build awareness and advocacy surrounding human rights abuses in business;
• The EIB loaned EUR25 million (US$27 million) for over 500 telecommunications towers to be built throughout Uganda, with the aim of increasing access to digital technologies;
• The EIB loaned EUR50 million (US$54 million) to the Centenary Rural Development Bank to support women entrepreneurs in small businesses; and
• EUR 12 million (US$13 million) was allocated to both the START Facility and the Agricultural Business Initiative in Uganda to support climate resilience and economic development among agrarian populations.

On March 6, 2024, EIB Representative Nina Fenton attended the inauguration of the Agra Metro, which received an EUR450 millino (US$488 million) loan from the EIB.

The project was funded under the Global Gateway initiative, specifically in the EIB's role as the EU Climate Bank. The initiative was intended to decrease carbon emissions related to travel in the city of Agra, which is a highly trafficked tourist destination. Furthermore, the project aims to reduce high levels of air pollution, increase accessibility of both travel and the monuments, and increase protections for women and girls.

The loan financing the 30 km project, which includes 26 stations, follows a pattern of EIB investments across India focusing on transportation and greenhouse gas emission reductions.

On February 9, 2024, the EIB and Mauritania finalized an EUR20 million (US$22 million) loan to support SMEs with a focus on empowering women and young people in the labor market.

Accompanied by a visit of Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to Mauritania, the agreement was facilitated by the EU's partnership with the OACPS. The loan will be managed by Mauritania's BCI., with the following priorities:

• 50% or more allocated to youth training and employment;
• 40% to women's economic empowerment; and
• Increased investments in renewable energy and sustainable agriculture, among others.

The agreement also included the possibility of unlocking an additional EUR5 million (US$5 million).

On November 30, 2023, European Commissioner for International Partnerships Jutta Urpilainen announced EUR143 million (US$156 million) in support for humanitarian assistance in Afghanistan.

Prioritizing displaced and vulnerable populations, the package included assistance for education, WASH, health, and gender equality, including WEE. Under the heading of basic services, the assistance also included psychological care, educational incentives such as free school meals, and efforts to shore up local economies.

On November 11, 2023, the Commission of the EU announced that the Parliament and Council of the EU had reached agreement on the 2024 budget.

Against the backdrop of the midterm review of the bloc's MFF, the 2024 budget included commitments of EUR189.4 billion (US$204.7 billion), a slight increase over the EUR186.6 billion (US$201.7 billion) budget for 2023.

Heading 6: Neighborhood and the World fell to EUR16.2 billion (US$17.5 billion) from EUR17.2 billion (US$18.6 billion) in 2023, a 5% decrease. Notable changes included:

• Humanitarian assistance increased by EUR100 million (US$108 million) to EUR1.9 billion (US$2.1 billion); and
• NDICI-Global Europe fell EUR800 million (US$864 million) to EUR11.5 billion (US$12.4 billion), emphasizing spending priorities of reducing drivers of migration.

On September 20, 2023, EU Commissioner for International Partnerships Jutta Urpilainen announced that the bloc would release EUR140 million (US$150 million) of previously frozen funding for Afghanistan.

The funds were allocated from a larger EUR1 billion (US$1.1 billion) package of support for Afghanistan that was announced in August 2021. The funding was frozen in December 2021 following the Taliban's decision to bar women from working in CSOs.

The released funding was allocated to support initiatives in education, women's economic empowerment, agriculture, and health. The EU made the decision to release the funds after conducting a six-month evaluation to ensure women remained central to the implementation and disbursement of assistance.

The assistance was allocated through the UN system and other CSOs and multilaterals on the ground in Afghanistan.

On September 18, 2023, EU Commissioner for International Partnerships Jutta Urpilainen approved the Advocacy, Coalition Building and Transformative Feminist Action to End Violence against Women on the sidelines of the 78^th UN General Assembly.

Valued at EUR22 million (US$24 million), the initiative is intended to increase the impact of investments to end GBV by bolstering front-line gender equality organizations.

The program aimed to increase the interconnectivity of development organizations working in the gender equality and women's empowerment spaces and support the formation of accessible and effective multi-stakeholder partnerships.

The program was designed to be launched with partners in LAC and Africa.

On September 11, 2023, the EU Court of Auditors, the bloc's financial watchdog, released a report finding that EU initiatives for gender equality did not achieve their main objectives.

The report centered on the Spotlight Initiative, an EUR500 million (US$535 million) initiative to end GBV against women and girls across the world, which was launched in cooperation with the UN in 2017.

The program enjoyed modest success in its support to education campaigns and services for survivors of violence, however, the EU's framework for evaluation provided little data for meaningful assessment. The report indicated that the EU's choice of the UN as an implementing agency decreased efficiency and consumed approximately 33% of the program's funding.

The report noted the adverse impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the program, while also acknowledging that the EU's ownership of the funding was not always visible, which potentially decreased investment from private donors and enterprises.

On July 13, 2023, the Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Union, and Cooperation José Manuel Albares and the director of AECID Antón Leis participated at the EU - CLACS Society Forum organized in Brussels, Belgium.

The meeting took place in the framework of the 3^rd EU- CLACS Summit, held from July 17-18, 2023. The summit prioritized innovative solutions for sustainable and inclusive development in the LAC region.

Albares highlighted that Spain, the EU, and the LAC region share a common approach in the areas of sustainable development, democratic values, human rights, peace, and the environment.

The EU - CLACS Civil Society Forum gathered government officials, development NGOs, youth collectives and other civil society groups. The civil society forum provided the EU - CLACS Summit with ten specific recommendations on gender equality, global health, the caring economy, democratic participation, digitalization, climate change, and education.