COVID-19: Team Europe has delivered €47.7 billion to help its partners address the pandemic and its consequences

This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission.

Since the outbreak of COVID-19 in early 2020, the EU, EU Member States and European financial institutions, as Team Europe, have disbursed €47.7 billion in support of partner countries in addressing the pandemic and its consequences, delivering on its promises with concrete results. This figure exceeds by far the initial €20 billion Team Europe support package pledged in spring 2020, which has now increased to €53.7 billion.

Commissioner for International Partnerships Urpilainen said: “Despite going through the COVID-19 crisis itself, I am proud that Team Europe came together and has proven and delivered on its solidarity with partner countries suffering from the pandemic and its consequences. As a solid and steady partner, Team Europe will also continue to support them in addressing new multifaceted and global crises such as the unjust consequences of Russia’s aggression on Ukraine.”

Team Europe’s COVID-19 response is supporting over 140 partner countries. From the overall €53.7 billion Team Europe package mobilised so far, €47.7 billion have been disbursed as of 31 December 2021:

• €3 billion for emergency response to humanitarian needs
• €10.6 billion to strengthen health, water and sanitation systems
• €34.1 billion to mitigate the social and economic consequences of the pandemic, including job losses and education.

Team Europe has disbursed 88.8% of €53.7 billion committed by the end of 2021. In April 2021, disbursements reached €34 billion, while at the end of 2021, they were up to €47.7 billion (+ €13.7 billion).

As of 31 December 2021, the state-of-play of disbursements relative to commitments is as follows:

• Neighbourhood: €13.6 billion out of €15.6 billion
• Sub-Saharan Africa: €8.3 billion out of €9.0 billion
• Western Balkans and Turkey: €6.8 billion out of €7.6 billion
• Asia and the Pacific: €4 billion out of €4.3 billion
• Latin America and the Caribbean: €2.5 billion out of €3.2 billion
• Africa, Caribbean and Pacific, regional: €539 million out of €743 million
• Overseas territories and Greenland: €579 million out of €631 million
• Global programmes: €8.6 billion out of €9.7 billion

Background

The ‘Team Europe’ package was launched on 8 April 2020 to support EU partner countries in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic and its consequences. The financial support initially pledged was for around €20 billion and combined resources from the EU, its Member States, and financial institutions, in particular the European Investment Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

The financial commitments then doubled to €40.5 billion by January 2021. As of April 2021, they had further increased to €46 billion, before reaching €53.7 billion at the end of 2021.

This collective global support focuses on 1) emergency response to immediate humanitarian needs; 2) strengthening health, water, sanitation and nutrition systems, and 3) mitigating the social and economic consequences of the pandemic.