EU Approves €37 million Package to Tackle Migration Challenges in North Africa

The EU Emergency Trust Fund for Africa last week adopted a €37 million package to increase protection of migrants and to strengthen effective migration management in North Africa.
The package will specifically address migration challenges in Libya, Tunisia and Morocco, the EU said in a press release.
Johannes Hahn, Commissioner for European Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations said: “The new EU assistance package meets both, the very concrete needs of migrants on the ground, and those of our partner countries.”
He stressed that “by supporting our partner countries in developing their capacities, the EU will also contribute to a safer, more orderly and efficient management of migration flows in our neighborhood, which is very much in our interest.”
In Libya, a €20 million program seeks to better protect and assist the most vulnerable migrants and their host communities. The program, to be implemented by the International Organization for Migration, will in particular assist migrants rescued at sea in Libyan territorial waters and disembarked in Libya. It will also improve protection and address the most urgent needs of migrants in detention centers; and scale up humanitarian repatriation and reintegration in their home countries of vulnerable migrants stranded in Libya, with a first target of assisting 5000 people.
In Tunisia, a €11.5 million worth program will support the country in implementing their National Strategy on Migration, address the root causes of migration by strengthening the creation of economic opportunities and, thus, target one main driver of irregular migration, and support a local inclusive integration of migrants.
The €5.5 million program to be implemented in Morocco will support the fight against racism and xenophobia against migrants by strengthening their legal protection.
This program complements already existing EU support to the main axes of the Moroccan policy on migrants’ integration.
Morocco is already benefiting from a large and diverse pipeline of migration programs. In order to support the Moroccan national policies on migration, a €35 million budget support program has just received the favorable opinion of the EU Member States, the press release said.

The new funding brings the EU support to North Africa via the EU Emergency Trust Fund for Africa to a total of €64.5 million in 2016.