EU – African Union: an additional aid of 800 million euro for peace promotion

The African Peace Facility (APF) was established in 2004 in response to a request by African leaders. Financed through the European Development Fund, it constitutes the main source of funding to support the African Union’s and African Regional Economic Communities’ efforts in the area of peace and security with an overall amount of more than 2,7 billion euro since 2004.

Yesterday, in Addis Ababa, the EU Commissioner for International Cooperation and Development, Neven Mimica and the Chairperson of the African Union Commission (AU) Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat signed an agreement through which the EU commits to an additional 800 million euro in support of the African Union’s efforts to promote peace, security and stability in Africa. 

Under this phase of the African Peace Facility, the EU will support the strengthening of conflict prevention, management and resolution structures and mechanisms of the African Peace and Security Architecture and AU efforts to establish a continental Human Rights and international humanitarian law compliance framework.

This new amount will also allow the AU to finance an Early Response Mechanism which will provide the African Union with quick funding for preventive diplomacy initiatives, mediation, fact-finding missions, and the first stages of peace support operations. It will also support efforts of the AU to promote gender and human rights principles and practices in peace support operations.