Brussels, 20/10/2015 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday 20 October, the emergency trust fund for Africa that is supposed to help African countries fight the deep-rooted causes of illegal migration to Europe was officially created with an initial sum of €1.8 billion.
The European Commission adopted the decision formally creating the fund and the decision on financing, enabling €1.8 billion to be mobilised from the EU budget and the European Development Fund (EDF) - a fund that finances cooperation between the EU and 78 ACP (Africa, Caribbean, Pacific) countries, on one hand, and the EU and the overseas countries and territories (OCTs), on the other.
Like all trust funds, this emergency fund is open to contributions from the member states and other donors, the Commission underlines - which is very much depending on as many member states as possible putting their hands in their wallets, in addition to the three member states (Spain, Germany and Luxembourg) that have each pledged €3 million.
This trust fund for Africa aims to help the Sahel and Lake Chad region, the Horn of Africa and North Africa strengthen their capacity to address the deep-rooted causes of illegal migration. Announced by European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker in his State of the Union address, the fund has been set up in time for the EU-Africa summit in Valletta, Malta (11-12 November) - a summit which will focus on migration and the refugee crisis (see EUROPE 11408 and 11385). (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)