European Commission and International Monetary Fund strengthen cooperation to support sustainable development

European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, on behalf of the European Union, and International Monetary Fund's Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva concluded a new Financial Framework Partnership Agreement that will boost their cooperation to tackle key challenges including climate change, and help countries achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. The European Union is the IMF's main partner in capacity development since 2016.

To mark the signature of the new Agreement, President von der Leyen said: “The European Union and IMF are strong partners. We jointly want to find solutions to global issues, notably in Africa. Today's new Agreement will allow us to focus better on climate change and digital challenges. I am particularly grateful to Kristalina Georgieva for her leadership. Together we are going to further strengthen our cooperation and partnership.”

IMF Managing Director, Kristalina Georgieva, added: “We appreciate the EU's leadership on sustainable development for all. We have a history of working together in building strong economic institutions to improve economic performance and the livelihoods of people in our partner countries. This Agreement will deepen our collaboration and help us do more together, especially where it matters the most — in low-income countries and fragile states.''

The International Monetary Fund and the European Commission are longstanding partners, inside and outside the European Union. This new Agreement will strengthen, simplify and accelerate the conclusion of contractual arrangements for the numerous joint activities undertaken to support good economic governance, public finance management and domestic revenue mobilisation, institution building, as well as the wider 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Background

Supporting macroeconomic and public finance institutions and policies in the EU partner countries has long been a common objective of the EU and IMF. Financial Framework Partnership Agreements facilitate this cooperation and stabilize the contractual terms of a long-term cooperation between the Commission and its key partners. The new Agreement will replace the one from 2017 and will allow both the Commission and the IMF to take full advantage of the novelties introduced in the 2018 EU Financial Regulation, such as increased simplification and bigger focus on results.

The EU-IMF partnership has intensified over the years with the organizations supporting each other's work, through regular consultations at staff and management level, and complementarities of EU budget support and IMF programmes, as well as through developing capacity-building instruments. These include EU support for the Tax Administration Diagnostic Assessment Tool, the PIMA tool on public investment management, the management of natural wealth resources, and the strengthening of domestic revenue mobilisation.

The EU is now the largest external contributor to IMF capacity development, including the IMF's network of ten regional technical assistance centres, particularly in Africa, and support to almost all of the IMF's thematic and country trust funds, as well as to a range of bilateral projects.