The European Commission has contributed €1 million to the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) Global Trust Fund for 2026–2027, backing capacity-building programmes that help officials from developing economies and least developed countries (LDCs) engage more effectively in the multilateral trading system, the WTO confirmed. The contribution brings the EU’s total support to WTO trust funds to CHF 34.5 million since it began contributing over two decades ago.
The Global Trust Fund finances around 280 activities each year — from training workshops on agriculture, digital trade and import licensing to courses on environmental standards and trade negotiation skills — delivered at national and regional levels, including online. In 2024, the fund recorded its highest number of technical assistance activities in a decade, reaching over 19,000 participants. Since its creation in 2001, it has supported more than 2,800 training workshops worldwide.
“This contribution comes at a critical time and will help maintain valuable technical assistance activities for developing economies and least developed countries,” said WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, calling on other WTO members to follow the EU’s lead.
EU Ambassador to the WTO João Aguiar Machado stressed that “strengthening the capacity of developing economies including least developed countries is essential for a fair and effective multilateral trading system” — particularly at a moment when predictable financing for such programmes is harder to come by.
The contribution is modest in size but significant in signal. At a time when multilateral institutions are under financial pressure and some donors are pulling back, the EU’s decision to step forward reinforces its position as a consistent backer of rules-based international trade — and of the countries that need the most support to participate in it on equal footing.
