(which amounted to €5 billion in concrete projects signed in 2020 alone). Our nine field offices in Africa are located within EU Delegations and work closely with the European External Action Service and the European Commission to deliver integrated programmes that bring security and prosperity across Africa. Through this presence on the ground, and in response to the expectations of EU decision makers through Team Europe, we achieved record lending levels on the continent in 2020 and:
• almost 60 projects were signed, a 50% increase on the previous year;
• 71% of our sub-Saharan Africa financing signed in 2020 is set to benefit fragile states or least developed countries.
We have developed and refined our African operations significantly in recent years. Those changes took on a new impetus from discussions among EU policymakers in the context of the NDICI/Global Europe negotiations as well as the reflection on how to enhance European finance architecture for development. Consequently, we have been reflecting on how to improve our contribution to support the goals of the European Union and our partner countries with even greater impact and efficiency across Africa and around the world. At the heart of this reflection is the proposal to refine our activities outside the European Union to improve the way we deliver our external action and development business in close cooperation with the European Commission and the European External Action Service, particularly the EU Delegations on the ground. This will mean more development impact and respond to the growing need for ever stronger bonds between Europe and Africa, strengthening economic and trade ties between the two continents. We are not daunted by the challenges facing these continents; we are inspired by the European Union’s mission to put climate action and development goals into operation on the ground and by our role in the fulfilment of the ambitious aspirations expressed in the strategies of our African partners. We are committed to making these visions a reality.
We are at the forefront of the Team Europe initiative that aims to coordinate and accelerate the digital transformation of partner countries, starting with Africa. This is part of the wider set of EU-Africa relations and strategic frameworks joining Europe and Africa, such as the United Nations 2030 Agenda as a guiding vision for both continents, as well as the African Union’s Agenda 2063. Agenda 2063 lays out Africa’s aspirations for future economic growth and development. It is the continent’s strategic framework for delivering on its goal for inclusive and sustainable development, and it is a concrete manifestation of the pan-African drive for unity, self-determination, freedom, progress and collective prosperity. The European Union supports the African Union’s Agenda 2063, as reflected in the joint European Commission and European External Action Service proposal for an Africa strategy in March 2020, which presented the partnerships on which the European Union wishes the strategy to focus:
1. partnership for a green transition and energy access
2. partnership for digital transformation
3. partnership for sustainable growth and jobs
4. partnership for peace and governance
5. partnership on migration and mobility.
The European Investment Bank’s operations in Africa reflect the aspirations of Agenda 2063, the new Agenda for the Mediterranean and the new EU/Africa-Caribbean-Pacific Partnership Agreement, on which negotiations concluded in April. The European Investment Bank will contribute to the new agreement objectives and to specific African regional priorities such as inclusive, sustainable economic growth and development, human and social development, the environment, natural resource management and climate change. The agreement is to be the legal framework for EIB activities in Africa.
This document highlights the achievements of the European Investment Bank in delivering EU investments across Africa and illustrates how—with the right structure and mandates from EU policymakers—the EIB can deliver better in the years ahead. It is an account of a solid partnership between the European Commission and the European Investment Bank, as well as with the full range of European and international development finance institutions and other stakeholders, such as the United Nations Development Programme, for example, to create profound impact on the ground. The result is sustainable investment in jobs and growth that underpins the EU-Africa partnership, develops local capital markets and infrastructure and supports the acquisition of new skills, while promoting EU interests in line with our values. Our commitment to deliver ever more effective investment is also reflected in ambitious new ideas that respond to the challenges of climate change, job creation, health and fragile contexts.
Read this document to explore:
• our role as an integral part of the EU toolbox for external action and development policy;
• our key position in global development finance as investors in inclusive growth, resilient economies and innovation;
• our goals and priorities in fighting poverty, exclusion and inequality in Africa;
• our climate commitments as investors in global green growth.
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