Press release: EU resumes its development cooperation with Mali

At the Informal Development Ministers meeting in Dublin 12 February 2013, European Commissioner for Development, Andris Piebalgs, announced the fully-fledged resumption of development aid in Mali.

Andris Piebalgs stated: "The swift adoption by the Malian authorities of a transition roadmap to restore democracy and stability has opened the door for lifting the precautionary measures taken after the coup d'état of March 2012 and for restarting gradually development aid in order to respond to the urgent needs of the Malian people." Some €250 million may be mobilised for this purpose.

He added: "The European Union is showing its long-standing commitment to support Mali by contributing to an ambitious response addressing the root causes of the crisis. We will assist the country in restoring democracy and peace by focusing primarily on reconciliation, conflict prevention and supporting the electoral process. Moreover, we will focus on food security, water and sanitation and make new proposals to help relaunching the economy."

Ministers also exchanged views on the post-2015 development agenda, with Commissioner Piebalgs and EU Environment Commissioner Janez Potočnik.

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