This evaluation was simultaneously a final and mid-term exercise. It was the final evaluation of the External Financing Instruments (EFIs) forming the basis for 2014-2020 MFF EU external action programming under the umbrella of the Common Implementing Regulation (CIR). At the same time, it was the mid-term evaluation of the EFIs forming the basis for the 2021-2027 MFF EU external action programming, including the Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument – Global Europe (NDICI-GE), the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance III (IPA III), the European Instrument for International Nuclear Safety Cooperation (INSC), and the Decision on the Overseas Association, including Greenland (DOAG).
The general objective of this evaluation was to provide the relevant EU institutions and services, stakeholders and the wider public with an independent assessment of past and current achievement of the goals set out in the EFIs. The specific objectives could be summarised as providing an assessment on the EU added value, relevance and performance of EFIs, on their flexibility and capacity to react to changing political and policy priorities and a changing context, on internal and external coherence as well as on scope for further simplification of the EFIs. Furthermore, the evaluation sought to identify lessons learnt (both positive and negative) and formulate recommendations to inform future decisions on the renewal, modification or suspension of actions under each instrument. The use and functioning of the External Action Guarantee (EAG) and the European Fund for Sustainable Development + (EFSD+), and in particular its contribution to the overall objectives and principles, was also assessed.
Link to final report: https://international-partnerships.ec.europa.eu/publications/evaluation-european-unions-external-financing-instruments-2014-2020-and-2021-2027_en