European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, together with some European Heads of State, launched today in Valletta the EU's Emergency Trust Fund for stability and addressing root causes of irregular migration and displaced persons in Africa.

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, together with some European Heads of State, launched today in Valletta the EU's Emergency Trust Fund for stability and addressing root causes of irregular migration and displaced persons in Africa.

The Maltese government has pledged €250,000 to the fund, which will initially total €1.8 billion.

President Juncker said, "through its long-standing development cooperation over the years, the EU has been substantially contributing to tackling the root causes of poverty and migration. Today, we are taking a step further. This Emergency Trust Fund for Africa, set up at a record speed, shows once more the EU's commitment to swiftly reply to the large challenges we are facing in the region. To succeed, we need to work together with other European countries and our partner countries in Africa in addressing the root causes of irregular migration and promoting economic and equal opportunities, security and development. For the Africa Trust Fund and our response to be credible, I want to see more Member States contributing and matching the €1,8 billion the EU has put forward."

The Emergency Trust Fund is made up of €1.8 billion from the European Union financing instruments as well as contributions from EU Member States and other donors. So far, 25 EU Member States and 2 non-EU donors (Norway and Switzerland) have announced a total contribution of around €78.2 million.

The Emergency Trust Fund is an innovative way how the EU is stepping up its collective response to current challenges on the ground and is a complementary tool to the EU's already existing development cooperation in the region to assist the most fragile and vulnerable countries across Africa.

It represents an important instrument to effectively implement the Action Plan to be adopted at the Valletta Summit and will benefit the Sahel region and Lake Chad area; the Horn of Africa and the North of Africa. Together, these encompass the major African migration routes to Europe. Neighbouring countries in these regions may also benefit from the Trust Fund's projects to address regional migration flows and related cross-border challenges.

The first meeting of the Strategic Board of the EU's Emergency Trust Fund will take place already today in Valletta to ensure the swift launch of activities.

The Trust Fund Board is chaired by the European Commission and composed of representatives of Member States and other contributing donors. Partner countries and regional organisations have also been invited to participate.

Migration has long been a key component of EU-Africa relations. The EU and its Member States have already been investing towards tackling the root causes of migration with over €20 billion of official development assistance (ODA) to Africa every year.

The current refugee crisis has however shown that it is time to increase this cooperation between Europe and Africa, based on partnership and shared responsibility. Both continents share a commitment to improve migration management.

The Valletta Summit was called by the European Council in April 2015 to discuss migration issues with African and other key countries concerned. The Emergency Trust Fund for Africa is one of the main deliverables of this summit.

An Action Plan to step up cooperation on migration is also expected to be adopted at the Valletta Summit, including concrete actions in order to: maximise the development benefits of migration and address root causes; better organise legal channels for migration and mobility; ensure international protection for migrants and asylum seekers; intensify the fight against criminal networks engaged in migrant smuggling and human trafficking, step up our cooperation on return and readmission.

Who benefits from the Trust Fund?

The Trust Fund will benefit a wide range of countries across Africa that encompass the major African migration routes to Europe. These countries are among the most fragile and those most affected by migration. They will draw the greatest benefit from EU financial assistance. The countries and regions are:

The Sahel region and Lake Chad area: Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, the Gambia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria and Senegal.

The Horn of Africa: Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda.

The North of Africa: Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya and Egypt.

Neighbouring countries of the eligible countries may benefit, on a case by case basis, from Trust Fund projects with a regional dimension in order to address regional migration flows and related cross- border challenges.

How can the support help to deal with irregular migration and refugees?

The European Agenda on Migration aims to prevent further loss of lives at sea and to reinforce overall cooperation with key countries of transit and origin. It also aims to tackle root causes of irregular migration and forced displacement in countries of origin and transit, in particular by strengthening the rule of law, creating economic and education opportunities, and building better governance, and the effective sustainable return, readmission and reintegration of irregular migrants not qualifying for protection. This requires a firm commitment to supporting capacity building of third countries in the field of migration and border management, as well as to the stabilisation and development of these regions of Africa.

What types of projects can be financed by the Trust Fund?

Establishing economic programmes that create employment opportunities, especially for young people and women, with a focus on vocational training and the creation of micro and small enterprises. Actions could contribute in particular to supporting the reintegration of returnees into their communities.

Projects supporting basic services for local populations such as food and nutrition security, health, education and social protection, as well as environmental sustainability.

Projects improving migration management, including containing and preventing irregular migration, effective return and readmission, international protection and asylum, legal migration and mobility, and enhancing synergies between migration and development.

Supporting improvements in overall governance, in particular by promoting conflict prevention and enforcing the rule of law through capacity building in support of security and development as well as law enforcement, including border management and migration-related aspects. Actions could also contribute to preventing and countering radicalisation and extremism.

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