Policy Updates

On December 17, 2024, UN Secretary-General António Guterres appointed former Italian Prime Minister and European Commissioner for Economy Paolo Gentiloni as co-chair of a high-level expert group tasked with addressing the debt crisis by advancing policy solutions and building political and public support.

The group will be led by UN Special Envoy on Financing the 2030 Agenda Mahmoud Mohieldin, co-chaired by Gentiloni, former South African Finance Minister Trevor Manuel, and Senior Researcher at Boston University's Global Development Policy Centre Yan Wang.

The group will present its recommendations at the FfD4, to be held from June 30 to July 3, 2025, in Sevilla, Spain.

On December 13, 2024, the EC announced the launch of a new Humanitarian Air Bridge operation to deliver health, education, and shelter supplies from EU stockpiles to those in need in Syria.

The EU-funded assistance flights will transport nearly 100 tons of supplies from stockpiles in Dubai and Denmark, to be distributed within Syria with support from WHO and UNICEF. EC President Ursula von der Leyen emphasized the importance of continued EU assistance to the Syrian people, noting that the additional funding will support food, health, shelter, and sanitation needs through humanitarian organizations.

The EU also pledged an additional EUR4 million (US$4 million) in humanitarian assistance, raising its total humanitarian assistance for Syria in 2024 to EUR163 million (US$176 million).

On December 11, 2024, the EC officially endorsed the roadmap for a strategic partnership with the DRC on raw materials, which commits to secure, sustainable, and resilient value chains - from extraction and processing to recycling and value-added industries.

The partnership aims to strengthen the EU's autonomy while supporting the DRC’s economic development, especially in the mining sector.

EU Commissioner for International Partnerships Jozef Síkela stated that while securing and diversifying critical rawmaterials essential for the EU's green transition, the EU is also developing economic opportunities, local jobs, and sustainable value chains in the DRC.

The EC has already established 14 strategic partnerships on raw materials, essential for green and clean energy objectives of the EU’s Green Deal.

On December 9, 2024, the EC initiated the 9^th edition of the Raw Materials Week, an event that brings together stakeholders from industry, administration, civil society, research and academia to discuss policies and initiatives in the field of raw materials.

Experts from various strategic sectors discussed how to foster domestic capacities, finance and derisk projects, stimulate research and innovation and improve critical raw materials circularity. The participants discussed the implementation of the Critical Raw Materials Act, which aims to bring a secure and sustainable supply of materials for European industry by using strategic partnerships to diversify supplies.

The High-Level Conference on Raw Materials will take place on December 11, 2024, and will be streamed online. EC Executive Vice-President for Prosperity and Industrial Strategy Stéphane Séjourné will explain his vision for the EU's raw materials policy. On December 12, the EC will discuss raw materials projects in the Minerals Security Partnership Forum, which is a platform for cooperation on critical raw materials for the global green and digital transitions.

The week includes specific sessions on investment opportunities in Canada, Greenland, Australia, Brazil, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Norway, Zambia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and South Africa.

On December 9, 2024, 70 organizations from various sectors and countries launched a joint call urging the EU to increase funding for development, humanitarian assistance, and climate action in the 2028–2034 MFF.

Initiated by Aidsfonds, Global Citizen, The ONE Campaign, and Pandemic Action Network, the effort invites organizations to advocate for an ODA budget that addresses global challenges.

The coalition established the MFF Hub to share information and analysis on the upcoming negotiations, as the EU begins discussions ahead of its next MFF proposal, expected in late summer 2025. A petition has also been launched, calling for a bold and fair ODA budget.

Separately, 45 organizations urged the EU to allocate at least EUR200 billion (US$216 billion) in ODA for 2028–2034. They argue this investment would strengthen Europe as a trusted partner, enhance crisis preparedness, boost resilience for the EU and its partners, and maximize collective resources.

On December 5, 2024, the EC, the European Council, BMGF announced that they will co-host Gavi High Level Pledging Summit which will take place in Brussels at the end of the first quarter of 2025.

Global Citizen will be a strategic partner, supporting advocacy, campaigning and event production. The summit will bring together governments, partner organizations, vaccine manufacturers, private sector and civil society to pledge investments in Gavi’s vaccination programs for its next five-year strategic period, from 2026–2030. Gavi is seeking to raise at least US$9 billion to vaccinate 500 million children by 2030.

Since 2003, the EU has committed more than EUR3.2 billion (US$ 3.5 billion) to Gavi. Together with its Member States, the EU is Gavi's largest contributor with more than EUR6.5 billion (US$7 billion) for Gavi 5.0 (2021–2025).

EC President Ursula von der Leyen, already announced EUR260 million (US$281 million) for 2026-2027 for Gavi 6.0 in September 2024. She emphasized that addressing health challenges at the global level is more important than ever and the EU is proud to co-host Gavi's High Level Pledging Summit. President of the European Council António Costa stated that vaccine availability is vital for humanity as well as key to restoring global economic prosperity.

On December 4, 2024, the EC announced EUR15 million (US$16 million) for the launch of the next phase of the Regreening Africa program at the UNCCD COP16 in Riyadh.

This program is part of the Great Green Wall initiative which aims to create green and productive land in the Sahel, and it is part of the AU- EU Global Gateway Investment Package.

The next phase of the program aims to restore degraded lands, strengthen community resilience, and improve livelihoods through sustainable land management and innovation. It will combat the impact of climate change and desertification in the Sahel and Horn of Africa, with a focus on Somalia, Senegal, Ethiopia, Ghana, Nigeria, Mali, and potentially Niger.

The new EC Commissioner for International Partnerships Jozef Síkela highlighted that nearly one million hectares of degraded land have been restored as a result of the program's efforts. He noted that the next phase will be even more ambitious in building resilience and driving sustainable growth.

On December 3, 2024, the EU and Smart Africa Alliance signed an administrative arrangement and grant to bridge the digital divide in Africa by building secure, affordable digital networks, advancing e-governance services, and exploring the potential of AI.

The partnership is part of the EU’s Global Gateway strategy, and it is the first agreement under the new EC and the new Commissioner for International Partnerships, showing EU's commitment to digital inclusion in Africa.

Executive Vice-President of the EC Henna Virkkunen noted that strengthening EU’s digital cooperation with Africa is crucial in supporting the continent’s digital transformation. The EU Commissioner for International Partnerships Jozef Síkela emphasized that the agreements will enable acceleration of digital transformation, boost competitiveness, and innovation.

Smart Africa and the EC also signed a grant agreement for the Data Governance in Africa, which is a Global Gateway Flagship project and builds on the EU- AU efforts on data economy. It will support the establishment of an African-owned data governance framework to protect citizens’ rights and attract investment.

In addition, the EC and Smart Africa signed a grant agreement on e-governance to harmonize regulations across the region and continent for accessible and efficient public services. The project will include study visits, peer-to-peer learning, capacity building, and the creation of an e-governance toolkit. These actions are in line with the EU and Africa's shared priorities as outlined in the Digital Transformation Strategy for Africa 2020–2030 and the EU’s Digital Compass for 2030.

On December 2, 2024, the Council of the EU endorsed 46 Global Gateway flagship projects for 2025, which focus on the areas of digital, climate and energy, transport, health, education, and research.

Every year, new flagship projects are selected and added to the Global Gateway flagships list which includes 218 initiatives from 2023-2024. The list serves as a strategic communication and visibility tool for the EU and its member states.

Out of 46 newly selected flagship projects:

• 25 projects focus on climate and energy, including investments in climate resilience for land and water use, sustainable agricultural practices in Africa, and boosting renewable energy including hydro, solar, and wind;
• Six projects focus on digital, for example boosting digital connectivity in the Pacific or the EU-AU space partnership;
• Four projects focus on education such as boosting skills, rebuilding schools, and supporting entrepreneurship in Africa, Asia, Ukraine, and the Middle East;
• Six projects focus on health, increasing sanitation and healthcare in Africa and Europe; and
• Five projects focus on increasing global transport links.

On November 29, 2024, the EC published the Annual Report on the implementation of the European Union's External Action Instruments in 2023, noting that EU foreign policy in 2023 was marked by Russia’s war against Ukraine and the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza, which present direct security risks for the EU.

The report provided an overview of the key elements of the EU’s foreign policy in 2023, including the achievements under its instruments for international partnerships, humanitarian assistance, security and defense, foreign policy, and enlargement.

The EC noted that these developments impaired international cooperation at a time when there was a need to address intensifying global challenges such as food and energy security, climate change, poverty and inequality, irregular migration, and green and digital transitions.

The report also outlined the EU's achievements in different sectors and geographical regions in 2023. Highlights included scaling up implementation of the Global Gateway strategy and the Team Europe approach, endorsing 225 new Global Gateway flagship projects, and organizing the first Global Gateway Forum. The EC also launched the Global Gateway governance structure with dialogues with business and civil society.

Migration management and security remained priority areas for the EU, which also provided humanitarian assistance in 114 countries in 2023.