EU Trust Fund for Africa

EU plans additional Libya stimulus package amidst verbal and legal challenges from politicians, experts and NGOs.

While the European Union (EU) is looking to further bolster Libya and the Libyan coastguard, a majority of Members of European Parliament (MEPs) and a number of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) Intergovernmental Organizations (IGOs) and experts criticize the EU’s involvement in the human rights abuses that are systematically taking place inside Libya. They state that Libya is not a safe place for the disembarkation of migrants and refugees and that by financially supporting Libyan institutions that facilitate widespread and systematic human rights abuses, the EU has been complicit in these crimes. This week steps were taken to address and review the EU’s policies and accountability inside Libya.

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News highlights: Eritrean road project scrutinised in EU meetings, UN warns of locust catastrophe in East Africa, Libya arms embargo main objective in Operation Sophia

In this week’s news highlights: European Parliament Development Committee discusses road project in Eritrea; Statement proposes EU benchmarks for progress in Eritrea, Spain returns did not break European law according to ECHR; Attacker of Eritrean journalist in London found guilty; Greece’s plans for new refugee detention centres delayed after protests; Two refugee boats missing in the Mediterranean; Pregnant African women disappear from Dutch asylum seeker centres; UN urges international community to take action against the locust plagues in East Africa; Ethiopia adopts tool for protecting Internally Displaced Persons; UN reviews Eritrean women’s rights; Bribes at refugee camp Sudan; Operation Sophia to enforce weapon embargo Libya as primary aim; Migrants and refugees in Tripoli increasingly vulnerable; and Tunisian refugee camp build for deported refugees from the EU, says journalist.

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Relationship between EU and AU – less focus on migration and more on investment, trade and climate change

The President of the European Council and the Secretary-General of the United Nations attended the 33th African Union summit under the theme of ‘Silencing the guns’. European Council President Charles Michel went to the African Union (AU) Summit in Addis Ababa to strengthen the relationship between the European Union and the African Union. During Michel’s speech at the official dinner of the AU Summit, he made clear that the relationship with the AU should focus less on migration. Moreover, Michel emphasized the importance of growing partnership between the EU and the AU, including investment, trade and climate change on the African continent.

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