European Union and official development assistance

The European Union is the largest development donor in the world. The Union together with Member States provided over €88 billion, or 42% of global funding, in Official Development Assistance (ODA) in 2024.

Ireland plays a central role in this Team Europe response to global challenges. Approximately 25% of our ODA is channelled directly through EU institutions.

Development Co-operation and Ireland’s Presidency of the European Council.

Development Co-operation will be an important issue on the agenda of Ireland’s upcoming Presidency.

During the Presidency, Ireland will host an (informal) Foreign Affairs Committee - Development during which the Minister of State will welcome counterparts from across Europe to discuss future directions for development co-operation and humanitarian response in a changing global context.

A range of other meetings will also be hosted in Ireland, including of Director Generals for Development Co-operation and Africa Directors from Member State Foreign Ministries.

At a Brussels level, in our Presidency role, Ireland will chair a number of key working parties, including the Working Party on Development Co-operation and International Partnerships (CODEV) and the Working Party on Humanitarian Aid and Food Aid (COHAFA).

Ireland’s policy commitments for international development, as set out in A Better World, to prioritize the furthest behind and to advance gender equality, good governance, climate action and humanitarian assistance, will continue to underpin all of our engagements on development co-operation, including in the context of the EU Presidency.

The Multi-Annual Financial Framework 2028-2035

A key part of our role as Presidency role will be to build consensus amongst Member States in relation to the EU’s new budget – the Multi-Annual Financial Framework 2028-2034. The MFF is the EU’s long term budget, which includes a budget for the EU’s external action. This new instrument will be called the Global Europe Instrument.

Global Gateway

Launched in 2021, the Global Gateway strategy represents a major innovation in EU international cooperation and development policy, setting the aim to mobilise up to €300 billion in investments in partner countries between 2021 and 2027. According to latest figures provided by the European Commission, between 2021 and 2024 around €306 billion was mobilised.

This is being realised through a combination of resources from Member States, European and national financial institutions and private sector actors. The strategy channels its investments in five key areas: digital, climate and energy, transport, health, education and research.

Team Europe

In line with a Team Europe approach, the EU and its Member States, together with national development banks and implementing agencies, the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) fund over 160 Team Europe Initiatives (TEIs) around the world. These programmes deliver vital services and support for people. Ireland funds over 30 TEIs. We believe that cooperating with our EU partners is an excellent way to ensure real change is being delivered to people’s lives.