The European Commission announced that the EU will allocate €50 million to support an African-led peace operation (AFISMA). The EU’s financial support for AFISMA will come from the African Peace Facility, which is used to support peace operations conducted by the African Union and African regional organisations.

EU Commissioner for development, Andris Piebalgs confirmed the contribution of €50 million from the European Union to support the African-led International Support Mission to Mali (AFISMA), at a donor conference on Mali hosted by the African Union in Addis Ababa. Recently, the Council also launched a mission to support the training and reorganisation of the Malian Armed Forces.

The deployment of the African-led International Support Mission to Mali for an initial period of one year was authorised by the UN Security Council Resolution 2085 (2012). According to the Commission, in an effort to support the Malian government’s efforts to bring about the transition to democracy, a number of development programmes in Mali may be resumed as soon as possible. Some €250 million may be mobilised for this purpose. They will complement existing programmes which among other things, help reinforce civil society, strengthen food security and improve supply of drinking water.

The EU has shown its commitment to the Malian people since the “coup d’état” occurred on 22nd March 2012. The 10th European Development Fund (EDF) indicative programme (2008-2013) has an allocation of €583 million for Mali.