Twinning

Twinning is an instrument of external cooperation of the European Union, where the public sector of a Member State shares its knowledge and experience with colleagues outside the Union. The aim is to support the partner country, either in fulfilling the membership criteria or in carrying out the economic and social reforms agreed in cooperation or association agreements.

Through the twinning instrument, the administrative capacity of the partner country’s public sector is increased through personnel training and support of restructuring. It also assists in the harmonization of laws, regulations and quality standards, in the development of procedures and in public awareness activities. Participation in the Twinning project is equally beneficial for the administration of the Member State, which gains international experience, fresh ideas, partnerships and motivated personnel. Twinning means sharing good practices with other state institutions and better mutual relations.

Twinning projects last 6–24 months and are financed by the European Union. Currently, partners for these projects are being sought from the Member States of the European Union.

In twinning calls, ESTDEV helps to find partners, write project proposals, prepare contracts and assist with the administrative and financial management of the project.

Contact: [email protected] 

Additional information:

European Commission Twinning website
Development cooperation website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Candidate countries are Albania, North Macedonia, Serbia, Montenegro and Turkey. Potential candidate countries are Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo. European neighborhood countries are Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine and Belarus; Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestine and Tunisia. Twinning projects are also being tested in Africa, e.g. Rwanda, Namibia, Tanzania.