Brussels, 06/02/2014 (Agence Europe) - In Brussels on Thursday 6 February, José Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission, and Oumar Tatam Ly, Prime Minister of Mali, jointly welcomed reforms undertaken by the government of Mali with the help of the international community. Both stressed the stakes of security for sustainable peace and development, to the benefit of the population of the country but, more broadly, the entire region of Sahel and beyond. They were speaking before the press on the day after the second meeting of the follow-up group to the "Together for the Renewal of Mali" conference of the donors held last May, and on the occasion of the high-level meeting on Sahel, held in Brussels on Thursday by the European External Action Service (see EUROPE 11012).
“The effective restoration of the authority of the state and public service in northern and central Mali is vital for stability”, said José Manuel Barroso, assuring the prime minister of the continued support of the EU for the development, prosperity and ongoing stability of the country. This has been demonstrated by the €615 million for 2014-2020 allocated to Mali under the 11th EDF and the envelope of €5 billion for the Sahel region, which is becoming more and more of a priority, over the same period.
“However, the efforts made to restore stability in Mali will be in vain if the threat moves, in other words if other countries of the region of Sahel-Sahara become the next victims of the crisis. We need an integrated approach, which responds to the security requirements, of course, because without security, without functioning states with control over their territory, it is extremely difficult to promote peace and, without peace, there can be no development or employment”, Barroso warned. “I welcome the fact that Mali has taken a leadership role in this approach, for example with the Platform for Security in Sahel”. Referring to the agreement reached by the negotiators of the EU and ECOWAS on the Regional Economic Partnership Agreement with the EU (see EUROPE 11006), Barroso welcomed “Mali's enormous support for the EPA”. This, he said, is “one of the keys to the region's development in order to have the critical mass needed for commerce, for trade”.
Tatam Ly thanked the EU for the total of the envelope under the 11th EDF for assistance in line with the priorities of the government of Mali: governance and the rule of law, education, rural development and water, and transport “to free the regions of the North and to ensure that the North of Mali is a link between the Mediterranean and sub-Saharan Africa and no longer an obstacle or an area cut off from the rest of the world, as it has been up to now”, he said, adding: “We have every hope that with this assistance, another Mali is possible. We are working on this for the great benefit of the people of our country and for global security”. (AN/transl.fl)