Only €78.2 million of €1.8 billion trust fund matched by member states, Juncker says

President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker said that out of the €1.8 billion dedicated to the Trust Fund, only €78.2 million were matched by 25 of its member states and another two countries, Norway and Switzerland.

“I want to see more member states contributing and matching the €1.8 billion the EU has put forward," Juncker told the media.

Earlier, President of the European Parliament Martin Schulz claimed that 28 member states matched a total of €50 million.

Schulz said that the Valletta Summit was a positive first step where two continents sat down together to discuss the migration crisis with an open mind.

Asked whether a concrete solution was found, the EP President said that he was not expecting a breakthrough, but a beginning.

Later the European Commission website, Europa.eu, wrote that a total of €78.2 million were matched by 25 Member States and another two countries, Norway and Switzerland.

“This is the usual behaviour in the European Union,” Schulz said. “We are simply reluctant to save human lives”.

Commenting about the relationship with the African counterparts, EP President explained that they have different opinions. He said that some African leaders claimed it didn’t make sense for them to see young people to leave their countries.

The Trust Fund will benefit a wide range of countries across Africa that encompass the major African migration routes to Europe. These countries are among the most fragile and those most affected by migration. They will draw the greatest benefit from EU financial assistance. The countries and regions are:

• The Sahel region and Lake Chad area: Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, the Gambia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria and Senegal.
• The Horn of Africa: Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda.
• The North of Africa: Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya and Egypt.
• Neighbouring countries of the eligible countries may benefit, on a case by case basis, from Trust Fund projects with a regional dimension in order to address regional migration flows and related cross- border challenges. 

The Trust Fund aims to help foster stability in the regions and to contribute to better migration management. More specifically, it aims to address the root causes of destabilisation, forced displacement and irregular migration, by promoting economic and equal opportunities, security and development. It constitutes an important instrument for the implementation of the Action plan adopted at the Valletta Summit.