Brussels, 04/11/2013 (Agence Europe) - €5 billion over seven years - this is the amount that the EU plans to allocate to the Sahel for the 2014-2020 period. The news was announced by European Commissioner for Development Andris Piebalgs when he was in Mali on Monday 4 November. It is in this country that Piebalgs began his visit of the region with United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, President of the World Bank Jim Yong Kim, Chairperson of the African Union Commission Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, President of the African Development Bank Donald Kaberuka and EU Special Representative for the Sahel Michel Reveyrand de Menthon.
“The Sahel is a priority for the EU where it mobilises all its instruments to address a complex situation”, stated Piebalgs.
This funding for the countries of the region (Burkina Faso, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal and Chad) will finance both security and stability for the region, and development cooperation.
Governance, the rule of law and security, social services, agriculture and food security, and regional exchanges and integration are the priorities for development programmes for the 2014-2020 period. The main sectors have been jointly defined with the recipient countries.
Out of the €5 billion, €3.9 billion will go for bilateral aid to different countries under the 11th European development fund (EDF), as all the countries of the region are ACP (Africa, Caribbean, Pacific) states. The remaining €1.1 billion will finance regional programmes.
The envelope still has to be approved by the European Parliament and the Council. Humanitarian aid will complete this financial allocation, according to the needs of the countries of the region. (AN/transl.fl)