Brussels, 23/03/2016 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday 23 March, the European Commission authorised the creation of a trust fund aimed at supporting the establishment of peace in Colombia.
Equipped with €70 million from the EU budget, the trust fund will contribute to funding socio-economic projects in areas most affected by the civil war. The fund will be supplemented by individual contributions from the member states. Nine countries - Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden and the UK - have so far confirmed their intention to contribute to the fund.
The trust fund will be formally established after the signing of a final peace agreement between the Colombian government and the FARC Marxist guerrilla group. Wednesday 23 March was the deadline set by the two sides to come to an agreement but the negotiations are not currently at the right point. Two days earlier, US Secretary of State John Kerry met FARC representatives on the sidelines of US President Barack Obama's visit to Cuba. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)