Brussels, 09/09/2015 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission is proposing to create an emergency EU trust fund “for stability and addressing root causes of illegal migration in Africa”. The Commission has allocated the fund €1.8 billion as an initial step. The announcement of the fund was made to MEPs by European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker when he made his State of the Union speech at the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Wednesday 9 September.
“The Commission is proposing to establish an emergency trust fund, starting with €1.8 billion from our common EU financial means to address the crises in the Sahel and Lake Chad regions, the Horn of Africa, and the North of Africa. We want to help create lasting stability, for instance by creating employment opportunities in local communities, and thereby address the root causes of destabilisation, forced displacement and illegal migration. I expect all EU member states to pitch in and match our ambitions”, Juncker stated. He added that a greater development aid budget was needed and that the member states should not have to reduce their budgetary efforts for development aid but that this aid should instead be increased.
Spain has already announced that it will take part in the fund. The financial support will help the beneficiary regions improve their socio-economic outlook by financing job creation projects, especially for young people, and by financing access to basic services for local people. The financial support will also improve the migration management policies of beneficiary regions, particularly through fighting illegal migration and human traffickers.
The Commission's trust fund proposal has been put forward in time for the necessary procedures to create the fund to be completed before the EU-Africa summit in Valletta, Malta, in November - a summit which will focus on migration issues and the refugee crisis. The proposal comes as part of the series of proposals that the Commission put forward on Wednesday in order to translate the commitments it took in the European agenda for migration that was adopted in May (see other article). (Aminata Niang)