The European Commissioner for International Partnerships, Jutta Urpilainen, and the President of the ECOWAS Commission (Economic Community of West African States), the Gambian Omar Alieu Touray, signed, on Thursday 19 October in Abuja (Nigeria), seven financing agreements for programmes of this African regional organisation with which the EU intends to strengthen its partnership (see EUROPE 13239/4).
“ECOWAS has a central role in stabilising West Africa”, declared Ms Urpilainen at the signing ceremony, speaking of a “politically challenging context”, at a time when Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, in the hands of the military, are being sanctioned by ECOWAS, which has imposed a total blockade on Niger since the coup d'état of 26 July.
The programmes cover trade, migration, energy and agriculture. The financing agreements that have been signed and from which these three countries will not benefit since the EU has suspended all development cooperation with them, are as follows:
- Support to Free Movement of persons and Migration (€34 million) as part of the common ECOWAS approach to migration at regional, national and local levels;
- Trade (€50 million) to increase intra-African trade and strengthen Africa-EU trade;
- Trade in services in sub-Saharan Africa (€11.5 million) to increase the liberalisation of services and exports;
- Support for ECOWAS organisations active in the energy sector (€25 million) to develop the regional electricity market, make its interconnected network operational and increase the share of renewable energies;
- ‘Clean Cooking’ Action (without coal, editor’s note) (€12 million);
- Support for the regional food security storage strategy (€20 million);
- Support for the ‘PRADEP-AOS’ programme for the development of the pastoral economy in West Africa and the Sahel.
These programmes are “in line with ECOWAS 4x4 Strategic Objectives and Vision 2050”, stressed Mr Touray. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)