EU Designates €124 Million for Security in Somalia

The EU has announced that it will provide additional support of more than €124 million to the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM).

This new financial support by the EU will cover costs including troop allowances for all AMISOM soldiers, police and civilian components of the mission, as well as operational costs of the mission headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya. This support will be critical in allowing AMISOM to continue to fulfill its United Nations Security Council mandate to carry out active peace support operations across Somalia.

Andris Piebalgs, EU Commissioner for Development said, “A safer and more secure environment in Somalia will benefit the Somali people and development of the country as a whole. AMISOM plays an essential role in supporting Somalia on its path towards stability and lasting peace until the country can assume full responsibility for its own security.”

High Representative Catherine Ashton said, “The Somalia we see today demonstrates the progress that can be achieved through the strong commitment of a country and its partners to move beyond the misery of civil war and destitution. AMISOM and the Somali National Forces, with the support of the European Union, have succeeded in providing the security and space for politics to occur and for the process of reconciliation to begin. Building on the progress achieved so far, Somalia and its international partners will agree on 16 September in Brussels a ‘New Deal Compact’ for the country’s future that will help Somalia continue on the path to re-building a fragile state and healing a divided nation.”

The EU and the Federal Government of Somalia will co-host a High Level Conference on “A New Deal for Somalia” in Brussels on 16 September 2013 to sustain the positive momentum in Somalia, and pledge support for a framework to reconstruct the country. The Conference will bring together the international community and the Somali people to endorse this framework – a “Compact” for Somalia for the next three years.

The EU also calls on other donors to contribute to funding for AMISOM. This new funding will cover the period of June 1-December 31, 2013 and bring the overall EU contribution to AMISOM to almost €600 million.