On behalf of the German Federal Government, KfW Development Bank works closely with the institutions of the EU and its member states to further increase the effectiveness of European development cooperation (DC) and to combine forces and use synergies in times of multiple crises and challenges. To this end, we act within the framework of #Team Europe in close cooperation with the EU Commission as well as with other multilateral or bilateral actors in European development finance.
In order to support the EU in achieving its development policy goals even more efficiently, KfW and its partner institutions AECID (Spain), AFD (France) and CDP (Italy) cooperate within JEFIC - Joint European Financiers for International Cooperation - a network of European national bilateral development banks and financial institutions which mainly work with public sector partners in developing countries and emerging economies. Next to this JEFIC plays an important role in leveraging the private sector and enhancing the local regulatory framework.
A core concern of JEFIC is to mobilise public and private capital for increased, effective investments in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). For this purpose, so-called EU blending is a proven and particularly efficient instrument. It is a combination of grants from the EU and loans from development banks with the aim of enabling larger investment projects and using EU public development funds as efficiently as possible, especially in strategic priority areas such as Global Gateway. In this way, low-interest and long-term financing can be offered for important infrastructure and other future-oriented projects in developing countries and emerging economies.
Together with the EU, KfW supports the countries of the EU's neighbouring regions in Central and Eastern Europe, the Balkans or the Mediterranean on their path to Europe. Through our field offices in the respective capitals, we work directly with our partners on the ground and on the pulse of events. How the people there are doing, what moves them and what hopes and challenges they associate with Europe can be seen in the articles in our "Perspectives on Europe" series, where local employees and partners regularly have their say.
