UNDP and the European Union

EU Commissioner for International Cooperation and Development, Neven Mimica, and UNDP Administrator Helen Clark. Photo: European Commission

The European Union (EU) is a very important partner to UNDP, making an essential contribution to UNDP's global development agenda. Our unique partnership currently supports millions of people in over 100 countries.  

The EU and UNDP are natural partners, sharing the same values and objectives. These include respect for human rights and the rule of law; equal access to development opportunities for all; and fight against poverty around the world. A guiding principle of our partnership is the joint effort to help countries achieve the Sustaianble Development Goals.

The areas of democratic governance and peacebuilding and climate and disaster resilience are the main pillars of our partnership. Human rights and gender play an important role as cross-cutting issues, while cooperation also includes other relevant areas for sustainable human development, such as migration and development.

We have been working together for 15 years, and engaging in a strategic partnership ever since 2004. The cooperation takes place at the policy, advocacy, knowledge sharing and programmatic levels, each complementing one another.  

While the partnership adds value at the policy level, the overarching intent is to translate these norms into practical realities – above all for the poorest and most vulnerable members of the human family.