On 9 July 2026, the European Union and its Member States reaffirmed their commitment to Small Island Developing States (SIDS) during an official meeting at the UN High Level Political Forum for Sustainable Development in New York. In an intervention delivered by Marie-Aurélie Vernin, Team Leader SDGs at European Commission DG INTPA, the EU recognised SIDS' unique vulnerabilities—including climate exposure, debt pressures, remoteness, limited economic diversification, and difficulty accessing concessional finance—while also acknowledging their strategic importance and leadership in ocean and sustainability issues.
The EU stated that it actively supports partners in implementing the Antigua and Barbuda Agenda for SIDS (ABAS) 2024-2034, which focuses on ocean governance, biodiversity protection, sustainable blue economies, and reform of the international financial architecture. Team Europe's support remains substantial, with around EUR 7.4 billion in bilateral Official Development Assistance (ODA) to SIDS between 2021-2024, along with funding through multilateral channels and EIB credit lines to local credit institutions.
Global Gateway was highlighted as the EU's main investment offer to SIDS, supporting sustainable investments that improve connectivity, diversify economies, strengthen resilience, mobilise private investment, and develop sustainable infrastructure in line with national priorities. The EU emphasised that Global Gateway moves beyond a traditional donor-recipient model towards mutually beneficial partnerships based on ownership, transparency, high standards, local value addition, and long-term impact.
As an example, Global Gateway has mobilised around EUR 380 million in Cabo Verde, supporting electricity generation, grid and storage systems, digital connectivity including submarine cable infrastructure, sustainable port modernisation, and wind power expansion with battery storage. Other initiatives include the Green-Blue Alliance for the Pacific, which supports climate action, resilience, sustainable use of natural capital, renewable energy (including a hydropower scheme in Fiji expected to almost double renewable electricity production per year), and work in the Caribbean to address sargassum as both an environmental challenge and an economic opportunity.
Since 2025, the EU has also funded on-demand technical assistance through the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) to support SIDS in ratifying and implementing the UN Agreement on the Conservation of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ Agreement). The EU called for a shared priority to ensure SIDS have the institutions, capacities, partnerships, data, and finance needed to implement ABAS effectively and accelerate delivery of the Sustainable Development Goals.