Twinning is a European Union instrument for institutional cooperation between Public Administrations of EU Member States and of beneficiary or partner countries.

Twinning projects bring together public sector expertise from EU Member States and beneficiary countries with the aim of achieving concrete mandatory operational results through peer to peer activities.

Twinning aims at upgrading the administrative capacities of the public administration of a partner country through the training of its staff and the support to the reorganisation of its structure. It also supports the approximation of national laws, regulations and quality standards to those of EU Member States in the framework of Cooperation or Association agreements signed with the EU.

To set up Twinning projects, the EU relies on the co-operation and administrative experience of EU Member States, which mobilise public expertise both from public administrations and semi-public bodies. A Resident Twinning Adviser is seconded from the Member State to the beneficiary administration for a period of between 12 and 36 months for the entire duration of the implementation of the Action, and coordinates the project's activities.
The work plan of a Twinning project usually foresees short-term and medium-term expert missions, training events in the partner administration, and awareness-raising visits in the Member States.
The partner administration in a Twinning project is a public administration with sufficient staff and absorption capacity to work with a Member State institution having a similar structure and mandate. The partner country must mobilise its staff, demonstrate enduring commitment and ownership, adaptability, and take on board changes and best practices in a sustainable way. Twinning is not a one-way technical assistance instrument but a joint commitment where success is a common achievement.

Twinning projects are implemented with a view to the mandatory results to be achieved. They are usually articulated in components corresponding to the expected results, and foresee a number of activities including workshops, training sessions, expert missions, study visits, internships and counselling. Twinning relies on the ‘learning by doing’ principle and sharing of best practices.