Observatory on European defence, August 2015

In the spotlight: 3 August
Libya: new EU humanitarian aids
The European Commission has allocated 6 million euros in humanitarian funds to support the population affected by the conflict in Libya, including migrants, refugees and asylum seekers. The money will be used to deliver basic commodities and to protect the most vulnerable people. The Commission has already allocated 8,76 million euros to support the United Nations and other international and non-governmental organisations in order to deal with the humanitarian needs of the Libyan population. Since the crisis escalated a year ago, it has become progressively more difficult for the citizens to access food, medical supplies and basic services.

5 August
Yemen: 12 million euros of EU humanitarian aid
The European Commission gives additional 12 million euros for the humanitarian crisis in Yemen. 10 million will be used to provide food, medicine, water, sanitation, shelter, emergency household supplies and protection to the Yemeni population. The other 2 million euros will go to Djibouti and Somalia – 1 million each – to assist thousands of refugees who are fleeing from Yemen to countries in the Horn of Africa.

6 August
First OSCE Special Representative for the Baltic
The OSCE Parliamentary Assembly (PA) President Ilkka Kanerva has appointed German parliamentarian Jürgen Klimke to serve as the PA’s first Special Representative for the Baltic Sea area. Klimke, an expert in the region’s foreign policy and maritime issues, is also a member of the Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference. The Special Representative’s duties include: to raise awareness in the OSCE PA regarding the Baltic Sea area; to promote co-operation within the OSCE PA among all delegations from the Baltic Sea area; to maintain contact with and follow up on the work of the OSCE and of other international organisations in the region; to monitor the situation in the Baltic Sea area and report to the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly and to the President on developments.

10 August
Security and migrations: 2,4 billion euros to EU member states
The European Commission has approved 23 multiannual national programmes under the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF) and the Internal Security Fund (ISF). The total funding for the agreed programmes is approximately 2,4 billion euros for the period 2014-2020. The funds will go to the frontline member states such as Greece and Italy, and to other EU countries also dealing with high migration flows. Additional funding under the ISF will also be invested in the purchase of large-scale equipment that will be put at the disposal of Frontex, the EU agency that manages international cooperation at the external borders of the EU member states.

27 August
EU task force to counter Russian propaganda
The EU has set up a task force consisting of eight officials in the European External Action Service (EEAS) to respond to the Russian government’s massive propaganda on the situation in Ukraine. The task force will look into Russian propaganda and into the needs of journalists in the Eastern Partnership countries – Ukraine, Moldova, Belarus, Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan. The officials will also have to communicate with local journalists and provide them with journalistic training. The task force follows the March European Council’s request to prepare by June an action plan on strategic communication.