On this occasion, he announced a €7.9 million contribution to support the country’s priority to address unemployment and build an innovative Mauritius.

Commissioner Neven Mimica said: “The EU has a long-standing relationship with Mauritius, which we believe has made a difference in the country’s development success story. We stand ready to further support Mauritius and today’s €7.9 million programme shows our commitment. It will support employability, education and innovation, and will contribute to the Africa-Europe Alliance ultimate goal of creating sustainable jobs”.

During his visit, Commissioner Mimica also met several Members of the Mauritius Government: the Vice-Prime Minister and also Minister of Local Government and Outer Islands as well as Minister of Gender Equality, Child Development and Family Welfare, Fazila Jeewa-Daureeawoo; the Minister of Public Infrastructure and Land Transport as well as Minister of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and International Trade, Nandcoomar Bodha; the Minister of Education, human Resources, Tertiary Education and Scientific Research, Leela DeviDookun-Luchoomun; the Minister of Agro-Industry and Food Security, Mahen Kumar Seeruttun; the Attorney General, Minister of Justice, Human Rights and Institutional Reforms, Maneesh Gobin; the Minister of Business, Enterprise and Cooperatives, Soomilduth Bholah; and the Minister of Financial Services and Good Governance; Dhamendar Sesungkur.

The €7.9 million programme signed with Mauritius today aims at:

• Improving the relevance of post-secondary and vocational training education in Mauritius to allow more young people from vulnerable groups to study.
• Enhancing applied research and innovation capacity by enabling collaboration between academia and industry. In particular, the programme will support the development of nanotechnology research. This should encourage further private investment and trigger the creation of high added-value jobs.

Commissioner Mimica also met the Secretary General of the Indian Ocean Commission, Hamada Madi, with whom he signed a €28 million regional programme to improve port security and safe navigation in the region.

Background

EU-Mauritius cooperation under the 11^th European Development Fund (2014-2020) focuses on tertiary education, research and innovation. The overall budget amounts to €9.9 million, with the bulk of the support (€7.9 million) going to the programme signed today and the remaining €2 million to technical cooperation. This programme complements the EU’s comprehensive partnership with Mauritius in key areas such as maritime security, trade and investment, fisheries and the ocean economy, agriculture, climate change, cyber security, human rights, gender equality and women’s empowerment. Altogether, the EU’s current support to Mauritius amounts to approximately €50 million.

The Port Security programme will benefit countries of the Indian Ocean region, including Mozambique, Angola, Namibia, Tanzania and Kenya. It is part of the overall action of the EU to support maritime security in the region. The EU is also one of the major security providers in this region with EU NAVFOR Operation Atalanta, which has significantly contributed to maritime security in the region.

For more information

Africa-Europe Alliance for Sustainable Investment and Jobs

Development cooperation with Mauritius

EU Delegation to Mauritius

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Certain data (name, e-mail address, preferred language, media name, media type) may be disclosed to the press offices of the European institutions, the Permanent Representations of the Member States and to European Union agencies, under the conditions laid down in Articles 7 and 8 of Regulation 45/2001.

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It will focus on emergency preparedness and response, health, food security and protection activities for the most vulnerable, and be implemented through the United Nations and international partners.

This assistance comes from the overall 2019 budget in support to the Palestinians. Significant funds have already been disbursed this year, including a contribution to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). Last year the overall EU aid to Palestine and Palestinian refugees amounted to more than €370 million.

The announcement was made to coincide with the annual spring meeting of the international donor coordination group in support of the Palestinian economy, the Ad-Hoc Liaison Committee (AHLC), hosted by the European Union in Brussels today. Since 1993, the AHLC has served as a key policy-level coordination mechanism for financial assistance to the Palestinian people, with a purpose of preserving the vision of a negotiated two-state solution.  

High Representative/Vice-President, Federica Mogherini, said: “We gathered here today in Brussels for the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee – thanks also to the tireless work of Norway – not only to renew our continued support to the Palestinians, but also to uphold the perspective of a two-state solution. Our economic assistance to the Palestinians cannot be separated from this political objective. We want to preserve the space for new negotiations because we want peace and security for Palestinians and Israelis alike.” 

Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management, Christos Stylianides, said: “The EU is committed to help Palestinians in need. As needs are increasing, our new humanitarian funds will help provide critical health and food security to those suffering from the very difficult situation in Gaza. We will also address protection challenges of the most vulnerable families in the West Bank.”

In addition, senior officials today also took stock of progress achieved in the past twelve months as regards the implementation of the biggest ever investment project in Gaza: the Gaza Central Desalination Plant Programme. The available water in Gaza is among the lowest in the world and 97% is unfit for human consumption. This project meets the most urgent water needs, providing water for the two million Palestinians living in Gaza, contributing to the environmental sustainability and economic development of Gaza.

Commissioner for European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations, Johannes Hahn, said: “More than ever, securing the future and legitimacy of the Palestinian Authority, bringing Gaza and the West Bank back together and creating the basis for a future Palestinian state require our political attention and financial support. We are contributing annually more than €300 million to the Palestinian Authority, Palestinians and Palestine refugees. This is why I am happy to see the progress on the Gaza Central Desalination Plant. It proves that common ground between the Palestinian Authority and Israel can create conditions in which the international community can support long-term solutions that meet shared security concerns, development and humanitarian needs.”

Background

EU development and cooperation aid:

Development and cooperation aid to the Palestinian people is framed by the “European Joint Strategy in Support of Palestine 2017-2020” agreed by the EU institutions, 22 EU Member States, as well as Norway and Switzerland and covers a wide range of areas, including capacity building, democratic governance and socio-economic development. In 2018, the EU support financed by the ENI instrument amounted to more than €328 million in total. In 2018, the EU’s key areas of support were: 

1. €155 million Direct Financial Support to Recurrent Expenditures of the Palestinian Authority (PEGASE), such as payments of salaries of West Bank civil servants, social allowances and health expenditure linked to East Jerusalem Hospitals.
2. €102 million in support of Palestinian refugees via UNRWA. Together with other EU financing lines this translated into an unprecedented contribution to UNRWA of €153 million in 2018, making the EU the biggest donor to this UN agency.
3. €71.35 million for project support to sustainable economic development and enhanced governance, improved access to self-sufficient water and energy services, and East Jersualem.

EU humanitarian support: 

The European Commission provided €46 million in humanitarian funding in 2018.

€5.9 million was allocated to families in the West Bank living in Area C and East Jerusalem for emergency response to demolitions and evictions, critical assistance for essential services, and improved access to quality and safe education for vulnerable girls and boys affected by the crisis. €40.1 million have been allocated to humanitarian programmes in the Gaza Strip designed to address the worsening living conditions of populations affected by the closure of the Gaza strip. The programmes support the delivery of emergency healthcare, water and sanitation services, disaster preparedness, and protection activities.

Food securityis provided mainly through cash support to households with an especially fragile economic situation, and by boosting agricultural production of small and medium producers.

For more information: 

EU support to Palestinians

Office of the EU Representative (West Bank and Gaza Strip, UNRWA)

ESMA’s opinions agree with proposed position limits regarding:

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