Statement by the Spokespersons of the HR/VP Federica Mogherini and Commissioner for International Cooperation and Development, Neven Mimica on the decision to operationalise the African Union Peace Fund

By EU External Action,MBC

The decision taken by the African Union Summit in Kigali to operationalise the African Union Peace Fund is an important step towards a system of African Union "own resources". This will fulfil the African Union Summit decision that Africa should finance 25% of African peace support operations by 2020.

The active engagement of the African Heads of State and Government, the leadership of the African Union, especially Commission Chairperson Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, and the African Union High Representative for the Peace Fund, Donald Kaberuka, has been crucial to achieving this goal.

The EU is the African Union's first partner and remains committed to work with the African Union to ensure peace and security on the continent.

Background

Since the creation of the African Peace Facility in 2004, the EU has contributed almost EUR 1.6 billion to the African Union peace and security agenda and directly supported the African Union Commission for an amount close to EUR 300 million. Yet despite this solid support, demands continue to exceed available resources.