EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM

1.CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL

•Reasons for and objectives of the proposal

The African Peace Facility (APF) was established in 2003 within the framework of the Cotonou Agreement for the period of application of the Cotonou Agreement and is funded by the European Development Fund (EDF), which is outside the general budget of the Union. The APF has become one of the key instruments to implement Africa-EU cooperation on peace and security.

Under the current 11th EDF, an amount of EUR 750 million was initially allocated to the APF for the period 2014-2020. This amount, which was based on APF commitments under the 10th EDF, failed to sufficiently take into account the sharp increase of the APF’s financial volume after 2012, which continued until 2015, when the Commission limited its funding to Peace Support Operations (PSOs) to 80% of the UN rate at that time for stipends paid to troops and police deployed in the framework of African-led PSOs. The introduction of this ceiling resulted in a stabilisation, but not a reduction, of APF disbursements, as savings obtained through the introduction of the ceiling on APF contributions to stipends were offset by an increase in the overall number of PSOs funded. The rise in demand has notably been due to the continuation of funding for existing operations (African Union Mission in Somalia - AMISOM), as well as the establishment of new PSOs (Economic Community of Western African States Mission in Guinea Bissau - ECOMIB, Multi-National Joint Task Force against Boko Haram - MNJTF, G5 Sahel Joint Force).

The APF has therefore been replenished four times to date, for a total amount of EUR 1,635 million: two replenishments of EUR 150 million each (decided on 24 September 2015 and 2 August 2016, respectively) for the Action Programme 2014-2016, a third replenishment of EUR 535 million (also decided on 2 August 2016) to finance the Action Programme 2017-2018, and a fourth replenishment of EUR 800 million (decided on 11 April 2019) to finance the Action Programme 2019-2020. These funds enable the implementation of activities under the APF until the end of 2020.

In line with the Commission proposal for the Multi-Annual Financial Framework 2021-2027 and the proposal of the High Representative for a European Peace Facility (EPF), the activities currently funded under the APF are expected to be taken over by the Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument (NDICI) and the EPF from 1 January 2021. To ensure continuous and reliable EU support to African-led peace and security activities, a smooth transition between the APF and these new instruments should be facilitated from January to June 2021 or until the expiration of the Cotonou Agreement, whichever comes first.

The objective of this draft proposal for a Council decision is to obtain the authorisation of the Council to use decommitted funds from the 10th EDF to replenish the APF with an additional amount of up to EUR 129 million. These funds will be utilised applying the 10th EDF Member States contribution key.

•Consistency with existing policy provisions in the policy area

The EU Global Strategy defines peace and security as one of the vital interests of the EU, furthermore stating that security within Europe is strongly linked to peace in neighbouring and surrounding regions. The renewed European Consensus on Development, adopted in 2017, establishes “peace” as one of its five focus areas and reaffirms the EU’s commitment to a rules-based global order, with multilateralism at its core. The APF is one of the key instruments for implementing Africa-EU cooperation on peace and security under the Joint Africa-EU Strategy adopted in Lisbon in 2007. At the 4th Africa-EU Summit in 2014, peace and security was reaffirmed as one of the five priority areas for the implementation of the Joint Strategy. At the 5th AU-EU Summit in November 2017, leaders agreed on four common strategic priorities for the period leading to the next Summit, one of them being "Strengthening resilience, peace, security and governance". Building on the new European Consensus on Development recalling the security-development nexus and on the EU Global Strategy stressing the need for an integrated approach to conflicts, cooperation in the area of peace and security therefore continues to be at the core of the Africa-EU Partnership. It is in this context that the European Commission and the African Union Commission signed, on 23 May 2018, a Memorandum of Understanding on Peace, Security and Governance, which provides a framework for an enhanced AU-EU cooperation to address peace and security challenges. Most recently, this focus on a continued strong cooperation with African partners on peace and security has been anchored in the Commission and EEAS March 2020 Joint Communication “Towards a comprehensive Strategy with Africa”. By enabling the continuation of the APF activities until mid-2021, or until the expiration of the Cotonou Agreement, whichever comes first, this proposal will contribute to serve the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), in particular SDG 16 "Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels". The APF is normally financed from the Intra-ACP and regional envelopes of the EDF. The activities financed by the additional funds allocated to the APF from the performance reserve (“réserve non-mobilisable”) will remain in line with the general and APF specific objectives laid down in the Intra-ACP strategy. The additional funds will be used in accordance with the rules and procedures applicable to the 11th EDF. The programming of these funds will be established by an amendment of the APF Action Programme 2019-2020, adding the implementation of activities from January 2021 or until the expiration of the Cotonou Agreement, whichever comes first. This amendment of the APF Action Programme 2019-2020 requires COREPER approval before being adopted by the Commission, as foreseen by Article 15(b) of the 11th EDF Implementation Regulation.

•Consistency with other Union policies

N/A

2.LEGAL BASIS, SUBSIDIARITY AND PROPORTIONALITY

•Legal basis