News
EU steps up its efforts to fight organised crime and drug trafficking in Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean
08/08/2014
The European Commission has announced additional funding of three million euros for the Airport Communication Project (AIRCOP), an on-going initiative in several countries of Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean to help reduce trafficking in drugs and other illicit products, thanks to more effective, well-connected counter-narcotic activities. This includes connecting the participating airports to international databases and communication networks and promoting intelligence and information sharing. European Commissioner for Development, Andris Piebalgs, said: "Organised crime, drug trafficking and the damage that they bring are a global problem that requires a strong and coordinated response". So far, thanks to this programme more than 355 kg of cocaine and 1120 kg of cannabis were seized, among other results. With today's announcement, the European Commission has contributed almost €8 million to the AIRCOP project.
West Africa: EU boosts its immediate aid to contain Ebola outbreak
08/08/2014
The European Union is increasing by an additional €8 million its efforts to contain the spread of the Ebola outbreak in West Africa. This is the fourth increase of EU assistance for this crisis. It brings the Commission's aid in 2014 to fight the Ebola epidemic, which the World Health Organization (WHO) declared a "Public Health Emergency of International Concern", to €11.9 million. In addition, a second "European mobile laboratory" will be deployed in the coming days, most likely to Sierra Leone, to provide essential support to diagnostics and testing.
EU launches new programme to support Africa's continental integration
06/08/2014
The first ever EU programme in development and cooperation that covers Africa as a whole, called "Pan-African Programme", has today been launched with an allocation of €415 million for this first phase (2014-2017). Welcoming the initiative, EU Commissioner for Development, Andris Piebalgs, said: "The major innovation of this programme is that it allows the EU to link up the cooperation it has with Northern Africa, South Africa and sub-Saharan Africa".
