The European Sustainable Development Fund (EFSD) was officially created on 28 September and is the first pillar of the European External Investment Plan, which by 2020 is expected to raise €44 billion in private investment in Africa and the EU's neighbouring countries to fight against the deep-rooted causes of irregular migration. Progress has now been made in identifying the priorities for use of the EFSD (see EUROPE 11869).
The Strategic Board for the EFSD met for the first time on 28 September and mainly discussed its internal rules – a discussion that will have to be continued with the EU member states, which have ten days to comment – but "five areas for intervention have been submitted. They have been welcomed", a European source said on Thursday 5 October.
These areas for intervention are: renewable energy and connectivity; financing micro-enterprises and SMEs; sustainable agriculture; sustainable cities (municipal infrastructure, mobility and waste management); and digital for sustainable development.
The choice of these sectors will be submitted in writing (in as much detail as possible, with concrete strategies for investment) to the EFSD Operational Board at the end of October or in early November. "It is possible that we will only present two or three of them because we want to be sure of the success of future investments, and certain sectors for intervention are more likely to bring success from the outset", the same source stated.
Once this board's positive opinion has been received, a call for proposals will be launched for portfolios to be submitted, after technical examination from the Commission and European Investment Bank (EIB), for the approval of the Operational Board with a view to a decision from the Commission.
The members of the Strategic Board are: the European Commission, the EIB and the member states, as well as the European Parliament and partner countries as observers – but the observers did not attend the constitutive meeting. "They will be there in future. We are going to increase the contact and at the end of November, at the EU-Africa summit (Abidjan, Ivory Coast), this new instrument will be presented, as well as at the business forum ahead of the summit, in order to consult them on the choices of investment", the same source assured. The challenge is now to make the fund and its guarantee known to potential investors. Seminars will be organised for this. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)