Exactly one year ago, the ‘Team Europe’ package was born as an EU response to aid partner countries' efforts in dealing with the Coronavirus pandemic, by bringing together resources from the EU, its Member States and European financial institutions, in particular the European Investment Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

Over the past 12 months, Team Europe has disbursed to partner countries more than €26 billion, 65% of the response package that is now at over €40 billion, surpassing the original €20 billion pledged. Moreover, not only did the EU play a crucial part in the creation of the COVAX Facility, an initiative in which high-income countries fund vaccines for low and middle-income countries, but also it is one of its main donors.

Out of the total money that has been disbursed to over 130 countries, Team Europe spent €3.2 billion in emergency response to humanitarian needs, by, for example:

• Supplying protective and medical equipment and supplies
• Providing assistance to vulnerable migrants and refugees in North Africa
• Ensuring the continued provision of humanitarian and medical supplies and personnel to third countries
• Providing support for access to safe water, expansion of sanitation facilities and promotion of good hygiene practices

Regarding health, water and sanitation, €3.5 billion were spent, amongst others, on:

• Supporting the Western Balkans and Eastern Neighbourhood in preparing for the reception and administration of COVID-19 vaccines
• Enhancing technical and financial support to the Health Ministry in Morocco 
• Creating a new partnership between the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) and the European Centre of Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC)

About €19.5 billion were spent on mitigating the social and economic consequences of the pandemic by, for instance:

• Providing a lifeline to businesses in the Western Balkans by involving local banks in the region in providing easier access to credit for the private sector
• Strengthening regional finance facilities to support SMEs and to provide immediate liquidity, more local currency funding and trade finance in the Southern Neighbourhood
• Working closely with the Palestinian Authority by supporting incomes and providing assistance to the poorest households
• Providing, in the Central African region, EU budget support payments, projects of food security, job creation and youth empowerment.

So far, the Team Europe initiative has been very successful and has achieved more than it initially aimed for. In the next programming cycle, there will be new projects to continue supporting partner countries that will focus on the main priority areas of the EU in line with partner countries' needs.

Image © European Commission, 2020