EU trust fund for Africa: flexible emergency tool, but lacking focus

​The EU Emergency Trust Fund (EUTF) for Africa is a flexible tool for providing assistance in areas such as food, education, health, security and sustainable development, according to a new report by the European Court of Auditors. However, its objectives are too broad to efficiently steer action across the African regions, and the European Commission has encountered difficulties in measuring the extent to which the fund has achieved its objectives. The auditors also found weaknesses in its implementation and note that projects face similar delays to traditional development aid.

The EUTF for Africa was created as an emergency trust fund in 2015 to foster long-term stability and address the root causes of irregular migration and displaced persons in Africa. The fund currently pools €4.1 billion and supports activities in 26 countries across three regions of Africa - the Sahel and Lake Chad, the Horn of Africa and North of Africa. The auditors assessed whether the fund is well designed and implemented. They examined projects in Niger and Libya - the countries with largest fund allocations in their respective regions.

“The EUTF for Africa is a special emergency tool to deal with migration,” said Bettina Jakobsen, the Member of the European Court of Auditors responsible for the report. “Considering the unprecedented challenges and the budget at stake, the fund should be more focused and steer the support towards specific actions likely to produce measurable impact.”