On Tuesday 7 April, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, announced European aid of EUR 15 billion to support the EU’s non-Member State partners in their fight against the coronavirus as part of the global response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
These funds may be supplemented by contributions from EU Member States, she said in a video message.
“It is in our interest to ensure that the fight against the virus prevails around the world”, she said. According to her, these funds will help cover immediate needs in the health sector as well as supporting these countries’ economies. In a few weeks, Africa could find itself in the same situation as Europe, she warned.
This announcement was deliberately made on the eve of the ministerial meeting of European Development Ministers dedicated to EU support for the global fight against COVID-19, in particular for vulnerable countries (see EUROPE 12461/4, 12459/9).
What share for Africa? Of this global package coming from the European budget and other funds such as the European Development Fund (EDF), a substantial portion should be earmarked for Africa, but we will have to wait until Wednesday to know the amount, since the figure announced by Mrs von der Leyen did not specify the distribution of funds by geographical area.
When asked about this, particularly the package dedicated to Africa, the Commission departments did not reply to EUROPE.
At the last videoconference of EU foreign ministers, the High Representative for the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the Commission, Josep Borrell, announced that a substantial package was being prepared for Africa by reorganising aid to prioritise the fight against the coronavirus (see EUROPE 12461/4).
So far, the EU has pledged €232 million in support of the global response through the WHO, of which €129 million is for developing countries.
Funds have also been announced for the Western Balkans (see EUROPE 12455/15) and for the EU’s neighbourhood countries (see EUROPE 12457/12), but nothing specific for Africa.
The President of the Commission also announced that the EU is “ready to coordinate a strong international response to the pandemic”, adding that COVID-19 can only be defeated if there is a coordinated global response and if States are united and help each other. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant and Aminata Niang)