The European Commission today announced the adoption of 10 measures to assist the Sahel region under the ‘Emergency Trust Fund for Africa for stability and addressing the root causes of irregular migration and displaced persons in Africa’. These measures, worth more than EUR 100 million in total, were adopted following the Valletta Summit (11-12 November) and the Ndjamena Summit (20 November 2015). They correspond to actions that the EU and its African partners undertook to implement by the end of 2016 in the joint Action Plan adopted at the Valletta Summit.

The Trust Fund was set up in record time, demonstrating the determination of the European Commission and the members of the Operating Committee to provide a swift response to the challenges facing African partners in the region.

Neven Mimica, EU Commissioner for International Cooperation and Development, explained: "The challenges relating to poverty, demographic changes, a lack of opportunities for young people and the security situation are still significant in this region and are fostering population displacement. The European Union is determined to take comprehensive action and the Emergency Trust Fund is an invaluable new tool. The adoption of this first set of measures, worth more than EUR 100 million in total, demonstrates our ability to react swiftly”.

These measures will help implement the commitments made at the Valletta Summit on migration between the EU and its African partners and will be launched early this year. They form part of the four priorities of the mandate given to the Emergency Trust Fund at Valletta: job creation, especially for young people and women, enhancing the resilience of the most vulnerable people, ensuring better management of migration and strengthening security in the subregion.

A regional initiative for the G5 Sahel countries immediately followed the N'Djamena Summit on 20 November 2015, which confirmed the mutual commitment of countries in the region to collectively address the challenges related to security and development. Three projects worth EUR 43.5 million will be implemented in Mali to support local authorities and vulnerable populations in the North and create jobs in the rest of the country. Two projects worth EUR 32 million will be implemented in Niger's Agadez region to help the authorities manage migratory flows and promote sustainable alternatives to irregular migration. Finally, three programmes worth EUR 13.5 million will be implemented in Senegal to assist the most vulnerable people in the country.

The measures to be adopted today follow those already approved in December for the Horn of Africa. Other measures aimed at the subregion as well as North Africa will be presented for approval in the coming weeks.