“Russia’s war of aggression has a heavy and irrational cost, not only to the Ukrainian people, but also to the most vulnerable in the world,” said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
THE European Commission approved today a proposal to mobilize 600 million euros from the reserves of the European Development Fund to address the current food security crisis exacerbated by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
These funds will support its countries Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific (ACP) to address the dire situation, through humanitarian aid (EUR 150 million), sustainable production and resilience of food systems (EUR 350 million) and macro-financial support (EUR 100 million). ).
Announcing the new support measure, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, stated:
“Russia’s war of aggression has a heavy and absurd cost, not only to the Ukrainian population, but also to the most vulnerable around the world. Russia continues to block millions of tons of grain in desperate need. “To help our partners, we will mobilize an additional 600 million euros to avoid a food crisis and an economic shock.”
Even before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, nearly 193 million people in 53 countries and territories were in acute food insecurity and in urgent need of assistance. “Russia’s attack dramatically worsens the situation,” the commission said.
The funds proposed by the Commission are disbursed funds from the 10th and 11th European Development Funds, which would be returned to the EU Member States, unless otherwise agreed by the Council unanimously. If the Council confirms, these funds will benefit the African, Caribbean and Pacific countries and will be used in the context of a Europe Group response.
In particular, the Commission proposes to direct the € 600 million mobilized from the European Development Fund reserves to support the most affected African, Caribbean and Pacific countries. The 150m euros will go to humanitarian aid. EUR 350 million will be provided in the medium to long term to support investments in sustainable production to support more resilient food systems, including social sustainability (youth and women). In addition, € 100 million in macro-financial support will be provided to the IMF’s Poverty Reduction and Development Fund (PGRT), which will facilitate support to the affected countries.
This € 600 million contribution to the EU Global Food Security Response to the food crisis comes in addition to the already mobilized humanitarian aid worldwide and funds from NDICI-Global Europe for sustainable agriculture, basic food, water and more than € 2 billion in sub-Saharan Africa and another € 1 billion for the Southern Neighborhood partners, complementing the € 225 million area.
Another € 960 million is provided under NDICI-Global Europe for Latin America, the Caribbean and Asia by 2024.
