European Commission

The European Commission is a strong political and financial partner of UNFPA.

The European Consensus on Development, adopted in June 2017, aligns the European Union’s development policy with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

In line with the European Union’s commitment to human rights, its development priorities and objectives support sexual and reproductive health and rights and uphold freedom from violence for women and girls, with special attention to female genital mutilation, child and forced marriage, and sexual and gender-based violence.

The main focus of the partnership between the European Commission and UNFPA is sexual and reproductive health and rights (including reliable access to contraceptives); the prevention and elimination of gender-based violence and harmful practices against girls and women; and data collection and analysis. 

Through its Directorate General for International Cooperation and Development (DG DEVCO), the European Commission contributes significantly to specific initiatives, such as UNFPA Supplies, the ‘UNFPA-UNICEF Joint Programme on the Abandonment of Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting’, the ‘UNICEF-UNFPA Global Programme to accelerate action to end child marriage’, the ‘Global Programme to Prevent Son Preference and Gender-biased Sex Selection’, as well as to UNFPA Country Programmes in all regions.

In addition, the EU partners with the UN (and UNFPA as one of the participating agencies) in the “EU-UN Spotlight Initiative to eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls”, which was launched during the UN General Assembly in September 2017. With €500 million in seed money from the EU, the Spotlight Initiative is responding to all forms of violence against women and girls, with a particular focus on domestic and family violence, sexual and gender-based violence and harmful practices, femicide, trafficking and economic (labour) exploitation.

The European Commission, through its Directorate General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (DG ECHO), also is a key partner in UNFPA’s humanitarian work. DG ECHO’s support continues to be instrumental to the continued provision of life-saving reproductive health and protection services for women and young people in emergency and crisis contexts. This includes the provision of essential services and commodities for antenatal and post-natal care, emergency obstetric and newborn care, clinical management of rape and mental health and psychosocial support for survivors of gender-based violence. 

Through its Directorate General for Neighborhood and Enlargement Negotiations (DG NEAR), the European Commission partners with UNFPA in projects on combating gender-based violence and gender stereotypes; improved access to health and protection services for migrants, refugees and host communities; advancing midwifery and specialized nursing; as well as on ensuring access to sexual and reproductive health services, including family planning.