European Union countries help candidate countries and new member states with the adoption of EU rules. EU countries also invest in security and stability in the EU’s neighbours through Twinning projects and TAIEX activities.
What is twinning?
Twinning is an EU instrument. It supports projects in which EU countries share expertise with candidate countries and neighbourhood countries. In this way Twinning brings together public sector expertise from these countries. The results that a project should achieve are set in advance. Twinning projects often last a number of years.
What is TAIEX?
TAIEX is an EU technical assistance and information exchange instrument. Through small-scale activities, TAIEX helps countries align their legislation with EU rules. It also helps them apply EU rules and facilitates the sharing of EU best practices. The instrument is demand-driven. TAIEX activities take the form of workshops, expert missions and study visits.
Central banking independence
A strong and independent central bank will always take the interest of its citizens, uh, serious in terms of protecting the value of the currency, of protecting the value of deposits, the value of savings, the value of pensions.
And it implies that citizens know that there will never be any temptation to use very short-term political gains to create longer-term damage to the currency, to the savings, and, uh, and the financial claims of the citizens.
Central bank independence is not there because central bankers like me like to be independent, but central bank independence is there because it significantly lowers the cost of disinflation.
And when I talk about costs, I talk about lost economic activity.I talk about higher unemployment. A strong, independent central bank, uh, is accountable, uh, to the public at large and should therefore also be transparent.
And there was one moment in the mission in which one authority told me, "Well, this is my decision, and I don't have to explain that all the time." But that really gets me going because I really believe powers should always be checked, and however much power you hold, you have to be accountable, you have to be transparent, and you always have to explain why you took the decisions that you took.
In fresh democracies, it takes time before policymakers start to appreciate the importance of independent institutions, so to see that development, yeah, taking place in a country like Montenegro, growing slowly but gradually to the, uh, recognition of the importance of central bank independence, that is, uh, very, very satisfactory.
Stability can only be there if it is everywhere, so if there is part of Europe where we would have instability, then it would also be very difficult for the remainder of Europe to actually have stability.
That's why we need to strive to inclusion of all European countries of the European family, and we have to make sure that we strive for the same degree of price and financial stability.
What countries qualify for Twinning or TAIEX?
Twinning and TAIEX assistance are open to public and semi-public sector organisations from the following countries:
Candidate countries and potential candidates
These countries are as follows:
- Albania
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Kosovo
- North Macedonia
- Montenegro
- Serbia
- Türkiye
- Moldova
- Ukraine.
Candidate countries and potential candidates are given support under the Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance.
EU neighbourhood countries
This includes both the southern and eastern neighbours of the EU.
The EU's southern neighbours are:
- Algeria
- Egypt
- Israel
- Jordan
- Lebanon
- Libya
- Morocco
- Palestinian Territories
- Tunisia.
The EU's eastern neighbours are:
- Armenia
- Azerbaijan
- Georgia
- Moldova
- Ukraine
- Belarus.
Neighbourhood countries are eligible for support under the Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument.
The European Commission’s role
The European Commission is the commissioning authority for Twinning and TAIEX and therefore funds the projects. Policy for Twinning and TAIEX is determined at EU level.
The Commission also delegates requests for Twinning or TAIEX assistance to EU member states through the network of National Contact Points.
The Netherlands’ role
As an EU member state, the Netherlands is involved in the implementation of Twinning projects. If a request is made for a project, a Dutch public or semi-public organisation can submit a proposal. Organisations from other EU member states can do so, too. The best proposal is selected.
Dutch civil servants can register as TAIEX experts. When the European Commission receives a request for a TAIEX activity, it selects someone who has registered as a TAIEX expert to carry it out.
Netherlands safer online environment
The online environment is cross-border by nature. Harmful content, misleading advertising, and algorithm-driven risks circulate across Europe instantly.
Cooperation allows regulators to exchange expertise, align approaches, and ensure consistent protection standards.
Children today spend a lot of time online, so clearer supervision of vloggers and online advertising is essential.
It ensures harmful or misleading content is addressed and strengthens transparency. Clearer regulation provides greater legal certainty and predictability for both content creators and advertisers.
This also creates a more level playing field where all actors operate under the same standards.
Transparency empowers consumers to make informed decisions. Clear rules help ensure fair competition across the whole media sector. For us as regulators, it gives perspective, it refreshes our thinking, and brings us back to what really matters. It's important that we keep cooperating so we can face those challenges together.
Dutch National Contact Point for Twinning and TAIEX
You can get more information from the National Contact Point for Twinning and TAIEX at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.