Joint Letter to EU Development Ministers ahead of the Foreign Affairs Council on Development

Dear EU Ministers,

We, a group of civil society organisations, are writing ahead of the Foreign Affairs Council on Development to urge you to defend the ambition of the Global Europe Instrument (GEI), currently under negotiation.

The World Economic Forum's Global Risks Report 2025 identifies the world’s most severe threats over a ten-year horizon. The top ten threats are either environmental, technological or societal. These global risks - from extreme weather and natural resource shortages to biodiversity loss, inequality, and pollution - will hit hardest the people living in regions where health systems, education, and social protection are weakest. The GEI is the EU’s primary instrument to address these global challenges, which will ultimately determine the conditions future generations inherit. This requires an ambitious budget, which we ask you to defend.

The GEI proposal rightly introduces greater flexibility to respond to crises, seize strategic opportunities, and adapt to evolving geopolitical priorities. This flexibility is important in an increasingly unpredictable global context. However, it must not come at the expense of accountability, predictability for the EU’s partners, or the Union’s ability to deliver on its international commitments. Striking the right balance between flexibility and clear, predictable development priorities is essential to ensure that the instrument remains both responsive and effective.

In this negotiation, one historic EU commitment is at risk: the Human Development Benchmark, which previously ring-fenced at least 20% of EU development funding for health, education, nutrition, and social protection. Strong health systems reduce human suffering and could add up to USD 12 trillion to global GDP by 2040, while also helping prevent pandemics at a fraction of the cost of future outbreaks. Each additional year of schooling is associated with a 10% increase in earnings, and keeping girls in school is essential for breaking cycles of poverty, advancing gender equality, and driving long-term economic growth. These foundational investments underpin progress across all other development areas. We therefore urge you to reinstate the Human Development Benchmark.

Africa must also be a central priority in the GEI, reflecting both present realities and its growing role in shaping the global future. By 2050, one in four people will be African, and the continent hosts the world’s youngest population. The opportunities available to this generation will be decisive for global stability, prosperity, and resilience over the coming decades. Yet in 2023, the share of EU ODA directed to Africa fell to 14%, the lowest level since 1990. Establishing a binding minimum allocation for sub-Saharan Africa would help correct this trend and represents an investment in our shared future.

Finally, today’s climate and biodiversity decisions will determine whether the next generation will inherit a stable and livable planet. Meeting global climate finance goals requires a significant scale-up beyond current levels. But this is an investment in our shared prosperity and resilience. Climate impacts increasingly drive forced displacement, resource conflict, and regional instability. At the same time, every dollar invested in climate adaptation in partner countries generates more than ten in benefits. Ensuring a strong overall spending target of 50% for climate and environment — including at least 35% for climate and 15% for biodiversity — would help prioritise partner countries’ resilience and reinforce the EU’s global leadership and credibility.

We ask you to: 

• Safeguard the level of funding to at least EUR 200 billion

• Reinstate the at least 20% Human Development Benchmark; 

• Secure a binding minimum allocation for sub-Saharan Africa; 

• Instate a strong 50% binding spending target for climate and environment, with at least 35% for climate and 15% for biodiversity.

Best regards,

Kasia Lemanska, EU Representative, Aidsfonds

Valentina Barbagallo, EU Representative, Global Citizen

Emily Wigens, EU Director, The ONE Campaign

Rowan Dunn, EU Advocacy Coordinator, Global Health Advocates

Eloise Todd, Executive Director and Founder, rani (Resilience Action Network International)

Mette Lybye, Head of Secretariat, Danish Alliance for Global Health

Sven Harmeling, Head of Climate, Climate Action Network (CAN) Europe

Yvonne Bogaarts, Strategic Advisor, Rutgers

Maria Luz Larosa, Head of Office, Save the Children Europe

Christoph Bals, Chief Policy Officer, Germanwatch

Tyala Ifwanga, Forest Finance and Governance Campaigner, Fern

Carlos Afonso, Interim Head of Office and Senior EU Representative, Plan International EU Liaison Office

Cécile Pichon, Director of Institutional Partnership and EU Liaison, World Vision EU Representation

Lidia Giglio, Global Advocacy and Policy Lead, SOS Children’s Villages International 

Meg Gardinier, Secretary-General, ChildFund Alliance 

Alexandra Chevalier, EU Representative, WaterAid

Hélène Berger, Executive Director, Friends of the Global Fund Europe