On Wednesday 29 August, members of the European Parliament's development committee said the Emergency Trust Fund for Africa, which was created by the EU to address the deep-rooted causes of irregular migration, deserves to be better equipped and should be more effective, but should not be a substitute for development aid.
Following the example of Cécile Kyenge MEP (S&D, Italy) who underlined the need "not to fall into the trap of making this fund a tool to prevent people from coming to Europe", several MEPs stated that it especially involved promoting the creation of jobs locally.
But they pointed out a lack of resources and gaps in the implementation modalities for projects on the ground through a lack of coordination between the local authorities and managers, on the one hand, and with other ongoing projects, on the other. "This fund must be used as a catalyst and to create synergies between programmes in order to strengthen them, but when there is no state, like in Libya, it is difficult to define the nature of the beneficiaries. Better coordination on the territories is needed", Kyenge said.
Answering those who asked about the possibility of better equipping the fund and about the division of expenditure between development and security, the European Commission representative said that at every meeting of the EU Council the Commission reminds the member states to pay their contribution. The member states invariably respond that they are not able to do more. "100% of resources is spent in a logic of development", he assured. And 50% goes to the creation of jobs and resilience, 30% to migration management, and 20% to the prevention of conflicts and security.
With regard to the trust fund – the Bêkou Fund for the Central African Republic – Teresa Teresa Jiménez-Becerril Barrio MEP (EPP, Spain) said that is was a good instrument that should be maintained "even if it does not bring all the expected results". In her view, as the top contributor, the EU should communicate better because "everyone criticises it and does not know what it does". Jean-Luc Schaffauser MEP (ENF, France) meanwhile denounced "the inefficiency of Europe, which is incapable of responding to security needs" and "relying on the legitimate state". (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)