EU mulling EUR 200m fund to stem fleeing Eritrea refugees

(NAIROBI) - European Commissioner for Development Neven Mimica said Thursday a 200-million euro ($226-million) development fund was being proposed to stem the thousands of Eritreans fleeing the repressive Red Sea state.

The "development contribution towards the root causes of migration" from Eritrea would be channelled directly to the people in need, Mimica said.

Eritreans make up the third-largest number of migrants risking the dangerous journey to Europe after Syrians and Afghans, running the gauntlet of ruthless people smugglers and treacherous waters.

Mimica hopes the fund will be approved by member states by the end of the year, he told reporters in Kenya, on the second leg of an East Africa tour, before travelling on to Uganda.

The programme would need the agreement of Eritrea itself, but funds would not be channelled through the defiantly self-reliant government, which has expelled a string of aid agencies and shunned millions in potential help.

The United Nations accuses the government in Asmara of being responsible for systematic and widespread human rights abuses, including the mass, open-ended conscription of its people.

"We do not see that our development programmes would successfully be implemented through government channels, because the government is not responsive to participate in such a development partnership," Mimica added.

Mimica earlier met with Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, where he discussed a 1.8-billion euro (two-billion dollar) emergency fund aimed to help Horn of Africa and Sahel nations "address the root causes of migration", including by providing job opportunities.

The talks in East Africa are focusing on "migration, economic cooperation, development and security in the region," the EU said, amidst an "unprecedented inflow of refugees and migrants from the Middle East and Africa."

Mimica, who comes from Croatia -- where more than 20,000 migrants are expected in coming days after Hungary sealed its border -- admitted that "development intervention is not an immediate response to any crisis", and was only one part of efforts.