The European Commission has launched the first phase of a new programme that will foster Africa’s integration process at continental level over the next three years.
The programme, which was launched on Wednesday, is the first ever EU programme in development and cooperation that covers Africa as a whole.
The ‘Pan-African Programme’ will fund activities in a broad range of areas and offer new possibilities for the EU and Africa to work together, said a release Wednesday.
The decision will launch projects for the period 2014-2017, with a total allocation of €415 million.
“The challenges with which we are faced can no longer be tackled within national borders. This is as true in Europe as it is in Africa or elsewhere” said President of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso.
He said the alliance between Africa and Europe is indispensable, adding he was confident the new programme will make it even stronger.
EU Development Commissioner Andris Piebalgs said the programme will allow “the EU to link up the cooperation it has with Northern Africa, South Africa and sub-Saharan Africa. It will also help us to achieve better policy coherence for development by building synergies between development cooperation and other EU policies.”
The Pan-African Programme, which was announced by President Barroso at the 4th Africa-EU summit in Brussels in April 2014, will amount to €845 million from 2014 to 2020.
It will contribute, amongst others, to increased mobility on the African continent, better trade relations across regions and also better equip both continents for addressing trans-national and global challenges, such as migration and mobility, climate change or security.
The first phase that was launched today will include projects ranging from sustainable agriculture, environment, and higher education to governance, infrastructure, migration, information and communication technology, as well as research and innovation.
Concrete projects will, for example, support election observation missions operated by the African Union in its member states or improve the governance of migration and mobility within Africa and between Africa and the EU.
Some initiatives will benefit citizens directly, such as a student’s academic exchange programme or the harmonisation of academic curricula across a range of African universities facilitating the mobility of African students and academics.
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