The general purpose of this independent study was to provide a more detailed legal, governance, financial and operational assessment of the feasibility of two of the options put forward by the High-Level Group of Wise Persons in their Independent Report on the European Financial Architecture for Development (October 2019) and to assess also the option of possible enhancements in the current institutional set-up. As such, the study should inform future policy choices on the European financial architecture for development by comparing these options and allowing for a clear understanding of the added value of each of them in terms of efficiency, cost, speed of implementation, visibility, development impact and alignment with EU policy objectives as well as of the preconditions for their success.
The specific purpose of this study was to assess the feasibility and the conditions for the implementation of Options 1 and 3 put forward in the Wise Persons Group’s report as well as of possible enhancements in the current institutional set-up (Status Quo+). The two options put forward by the Wise Persons Group to be covered as elements of this study involve important institutional changes and have significant implications on financial and human resources. The study assessed the necessary legal and statutory pre-conditions for their possible implementation, their added value, their financial, governance and operational implications as well as the potential advantages and disadvantages of the Status Quo+.