The masterclass featured two speakers: Bernard Jaspers Faijer from the Office for International Cooperation at the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs. And Pamphile Nyandwi, Program Coordinator for Cordaid in Burundi. Together, they provided both a policymaker’s overview and a grounded example from the field, giving participants a balanced and practical understanding of EU-DC.
Understanding EU Delegated Cooperation
Bernard Jaspers Faijer opened the session with a clear explanation of how the EU structures its funding and how delegated cooperation fits within that system. Drawing on his experience both within government and in the NGO sector, he highlighted the scale of EU financial instruments and the expected changes for the next Multiannual Financial Framework (2028-2034). Against that backdrop, he explained that EU-DC is one of the EU’s indirect management modalities, in which the European Commission channels funds through so-called “pillar assessed” organisations that meet the EU’s financial and procedural standards.
Bernard took participants through the role of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which is unusual in holding both the position of EU Member State representative and that of implementing partner. This dual role allows the ministry to bring in its own funding, link with existing bilateral programmes, work through its embassies, and collaborate with NGOs that provide essential local expertise.
It is important to be aware that delegated cooperation does not operate through open calls. Instead, projects emerge when the EU, the Dutch ministry and local partners identify a shared opportunity to strengthen or scale up ongoing initiatives. Early engagement with embassies, EU delegations and other partners therefore makes a significant difference. For a project to qualify for EU-DC, it must align with both the Dutch and the EU’s policy priorities. Bernard emphasised that delegated cooperation is specifically designed to build on existing partnerships and proven interventions; it cannot be used to launch entirely new stand-alone projects but rather to scale up what is already working.
A practical example from Burundi
To illustrate how this works on the ground, Pamphile Nyandwi shared Cordaid’s experience with an EU-DC project in Burundi that aims to improve access to justice for vulnerable groups and victims of human rights violations. The project is funded by the EU through the Embassy of the Netherlands and implemented by Cordaid in partnership with several local organisations, including bar associations, women lawyers’ groups and organisations monitoring detention facilities.
Pamphile described how the project builds on existing Dutch-supported interventions and how the delegated cooperation arrangement enables enhanced coordination between the embassy, the EU and national actors. He reflected on both the strengths and the challenges of working under EU-DC: the benefits of joint programming, greater strategic coherence and stronger localisation. These exist alongside the realities of longer decision-making processes, navigating multiple compliance systems and managing visibility requirements. His story helped to translate the abstract mechanics of EU-DC into the lived reality of implementation.
Reflections and takeaways
After the presentations, the discussion with participants covered a wide range of issues, from the roles of different institutions to practical considerations in partnership building and project design. The exchanges showed a strong appetite among organisations to understand better where EU-DC aligns with their work and how they might engage with the process.
The session highlighted a few overarching insights. Delegated cooperation is fundamentally about collaboration rather than competition, and it requires early alignment between embassies, EU delegations and implementing organisations. The Dutch ministry’s involvement is central, but NGOs bring indispensable contextual knowledge, networks and experience. And while the modality can be complex, it also offers meaningful opportunities to scale up successful approaches and strengthen joint European efforts in partner countries.
With both a policy lens and a practical example, the masterclass helped to shed light on EU Delegated Cooperation. It offered participants a clearer picture of how it works and how they might position themselves within it.