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The Sudanese civil war has created the largest humanitarian emergency in the world. Since violence broke out in April 2023, fighting between the two main parties to the conflict – the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces – has not eased. As third countries have continued offering financial and military support to both parties, the situation of civilian Sudanese has continued to deteriorate. In 2026, more than 30 million people in the country need humanitarian assistance and over 15 ...

This study examines the evolving relationship between principles and interests in European Union (EU) development and cooperation policies. Against the backdrop of global fragmentation and heightened geopolitical competition, the EU has increasingly reframed its external action as ‘strategic’ and ‘geopolitical’, most notably through the Global Gateway initiative. While the EU Treaties enshrine poverty eradication as the primary objective of EU development cooperation policy, the study finds a significant ...

EU cooperation with African countries and the African Union (AU) is based on two distinct frameworks: namely (a) the Joint Africa-EU strategy and (b) the Partnership Agreements with the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) states.The legal basis for the political, economic and development aspects of the partnership between the EU and the ACP states was established by the Cotonou Agreement in 2000. This was replaced, on 15 November 2023, by the Samoa Agreement, which was negotiated to modernise and ...

This study examines how the European Commission and the European Investment Bank measure the impact of their external action programmes and investments on decent and sustainable job creation in Sub Saharan Africa, with particular attention to the Global Gateway. This paper summarises current employment impact assessment practices, recognising their capacity to capture high level direct and indirect employment effects while also identifying clear limitations, especially in harmonising job quality ...

Recent climate related disasters, health crises and security threats have highlighted the need to build a resilient Union, capable of anticipating and effectively managing future disasters and crises based on an all hazards approach. More comprehensive and integrated crisis management, requiring close and efficient cooperation between the EU and Member States, is essential for addressing complex and long lasting crises impacting several sectors simultaneously. To this end, and as part of the proposed ...

The latest annual review of EU external action to promote human rights and democracy, covering 2024, highlights a challenging situation, shaped by 'multiple and cascading crises'. During its January plenary session, the European Parliament is expected to vote on a resolution on its own yearly report on human rights and democracy in the world, responding to the annual review and recommending further EU action.

Development policy lies at the heart of the European Union’s external policies. It aims to reduce and ultimately eradicate poverty and it is central to the EU’s response to the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (the 2030 Agenda). Its objectives include fostering sustainable growth, defending human rights and democracy, achieving gender equality, promoting peace and inclusive societies and tackling environmental and climate challenges. The EU works on a global scale and is the world’s largest ...