EU extends €650M to support Ethiopia

In a press conference held at Sky Light Hotel The European Union commissioner for International Partnerships Jutta Urpilainen announced 650 million Euros support to Ethiopia for economic and political stability. She also underlined the strict conditions in which this support will be applied. Finance Minister H.E Ahmed Shide also noted the importance of the agreement.

H.E Madam Jutta Urpilainen called the Multiannual Indicative Program, which will run from 2024-2027, “an important day and a big step” towards achieving economic and peace goals in Ethiopia.

Due to the conflict in the Tigray region, the European Union stopped budgetary support to the Ethiopian government and according to the commissioner. At the same time, she underlined the fact that the European Union has never stopped its support for the Ethiopian population. “The government of Ethiopia is negotiating with the IMF program. EU has a gradual approach and one step has been taken forward” said H.E Madam Jutta.

This new announcement begs the question of what type of assurances the EU got from the Ethiopian government regarding peace and political stability to agree to work together. A statement from the Ministry of Finance stated that H.E. Mr. Ahmed “explained about concrete steps that have been taken concerning consolidating the peace and reconstruction and recovery efforts.”

The agreement can be viewed as a push factor for the government to further work on creating stability in the different regions of the country. It can’t afford to lose such deals because of ongoing conflicts. Even though what the European Union expects in return from the agreement can’t be narrowed to just peace and stability it’s one area that is a priority for all parties involved.