The EU Trust Fund for Africa allocated €90 million to boost the protection of migrants and reinforce migration management in Libya. The program will specifically target the root causes of irregular migration and displaced persons in Africa, focusing on better resilience of migrants, refugees, and host communities in the North African country. Federica Mogherini, chief of the EU diplomacy, said that Libya and the Libyans have always been and remain to be the EU’s top priority.
”We are working to promote a political solution to the Libyan crisis and to support the Libyan authorities on the many challenges they have to face, including the managing of the migration flows. As the first donor for Libya, we already are providing a sizeable package of support worth €120 million to assist the authorities and the population,” Ms. Mogherini said. The EU is already working on two major fronts in Libya – providing training and capacity building to the coast guard to save lives in the Mediterranean Sea as well as addressing the dire situation of the migrants stranded in Libya. EU Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management Christos Stylianides also stressed that the EU remained “committed to help people in need wherever they are and to leave no one behind”.
The EU has also allocated a development aid package of €47 million to the African region of the Great Lakes as well as Southern Africa and Indian Ocean region. The aim is to provide humanitarian assistance to help people in need who continue to face the consequences of years of conflict and displacement, food insecurity and natural disasters. Of the €47 million, €32 will be distributed in the Great Lakes region – including the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Rwanda, Burundi, and Tanzania, while €15 million will go to the Southern Africa and Indian Ocean region, including Madagascar, Malawi, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Swaziland, and Lesotho.
