Creating economic opportunities close to home

Building economic opportunities and addressing root causes of irregular migration and forced displacement will continue to be a priority for the EU. The EU and its Member States are the world’s largest provider of development assistance, and this will remain a key feature in its engagement with partners. The EU’s development cooperation funding instrument for 2021-2027 (the Neighborhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument- Global Europe) will dedicate 10% of the funding to actions related to migration and force displacement. It will fund work to build strong and cohesive societies, create economic opportunity, develop vocational education and training, sustainable investment and jobs while pursuing green and digital agendas, promoting entrapreneurship so to help people feel that their future can lie at home. Investment-boosting instruments, such as the EU’s External Investment Plan and the actions of the European Fund for Sustainable Development, can have a significant contribution to the creation of job opportunities, including for the youth. And many other policies can be harnessed to help build stability and prosperity in partner countries. For example, 1 billion EUR will be dedicated to creating opportunities closer to home in the North Africa region.