Title page 1

Contents 6

Foreword 4

Acknowledgements 5

Abbreviations and acronyms 8

Executive summary 11

The DAC's recommendations to the European Union 13

Findings 17

The European Union context 18

The emerging development paradigm to international partnerships 22

Team Europe in motion and partnerships in countries 39

The Global Gateway in practice and working with the private sector 48

Staying engaged in a context of growing fragility and a shifting development paradigm 67

References 78

Notes 88

Annex A. Progress since the 2018 DAC peer review recommendations 96

Annex B. Progress against OECD legal instruments under the responsibility of the DAC 99

Notes 106

Annex C. Organisations consulted during the peer review 107

Annex D. Glossary 110

Tables 7

Table 1. More than one-third of Global Gateway flagships are in LDCs 30

Table 2. Global Gateway flagship projects are mostly active in the climate and energy sector 31

Table 3. Programming in sub-Saharan Africa is moving towards the Green Deal and economic growth 32

Table 4. Overview of the different methods of the Team Europe approach 41

Figures 6

Figure 1. A trilogue for policy making 19

Figure 2. NDICI-Global Europe is the biggest financial instrument for international partnership, excluding exceptional support to Ukraine 20

Figure 3. ODA from EU institutions grew steadily until 2023 21

Figure 4. EU institutions allocated more than half of their bilateral ODA general budget support, including macro-financial assistance 22

Figure 5. ODA from EU institutions to LDCs is decreasing in volume 27

Figure 6. ODA from EU institutions is declining in countries most affected by poverty 28

Figure 7. LDCs face the steepest global cuts 29

Figure 8. ODA with gender equality objectives is stable at 60% of disbursements 33

Figure 9. Attention to gender equality is lower in key sectors of the Global Gateway such as energy and transport 33

Figure 10. Budget support has been decreasing in regions covered by DG INTPA since 2021 35

Figure 11. Transformative value of Team Europe Initiatives 41

Figure 12. The share of EU development assistance directly through local systems is high but decreasing 47

Figure 13. The European Union uses the concept of "mobilisation of private sector" to describe various forms of private sector engagement 49

Figure 14. Governance structures for the Global Gateway are distinct from the usual development co-operation structures 51

Figure 15. Stakeholders have varying interpretations of the 360-degree approach 53

Figure 16. Most untied ODA contracts funded by EU institutions are awarded to European entities 55

Figure 17. Financing of the Global Gateway is expected to come from various institutions and instruments, with the EFSD+ playing a key role 58

Figure 18. European multilateral and bilateral financial institutions have different financing capacity 59

Figure 19. The EFSD+ guarantee approval process under the Open Architecture is long and complex 61

Figure 20. EU ODA to contexts with high or extreme fragility has remained relatively stable over time, although it has fallen as a share of total ODA 72

Figure 21. Top 10 United Nations recipients, 2023 77

Boxes 7

Box 1. Supporting reform through a comprehensive offer in the EU Neighbourhood 36

Box 2. The Twinning and TAIEX instruments - practical ways to leverage expertise of EU Member States for peer-to-peer learning 42

Box 3. Connecting the unconnected in Colombia - supporting infrastructure investments and community Internet networks to bring... 52

Box 4. The Lobito Corridor exemplifies a renewed emphasis on mutual benefits in today's geopolitical landscape 54

Box 5. The Ukraine Investment Framework, a de-risking instrument similar to the EFSD+, helps mobilise private financing for investments 62

Box 6. The European Union has deployed an array of tools to promote the positive impacts of trade and investment on sustainable development 65

Box 7. Integrated support to peace in Colombia 69

Infographics 7

Infographic 1. Highlights from the 2025 Development Co-operation Peer Review of the European Union 15

Infographic 2. The European Union's development co-operation at a glance 16