EU Approves €75 Million For AU Mission in Somalia Amid Longstanding Funding Pressures

GOOBJOOG NEWS|BRUSSELS: The European Union has approved an additional €75 million in support for the military component of the African Union Support and Stabilisation Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM), offering a fresh financial boost to the force amid longstanding funding pressures facing African Union operations in Somalia.
The decision was approved by the Political and Security Committee of the Council of the EU under the European Peace Facility (EPF), according to an EU statement released Friday.
The new package brings total EU support to successive African Union-led missions in Somalia to nearly €2.8 billion since 2007, underlining Brussels’ role as the largest direct external contributor to peace operations in the country.
The latest package comes after years of financing uncertainty affecting AU missions in Somalia. In 2016, the EU reduced troop stipend payments for the then African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) by 20 percent, cutting monthly reimbursements from about $1,028 per soldier to roughly $822, a move that triggered concern among troop-contributing countries over the sustainability of operations.
According to the statement, the new funding will mainly cover troop allowances for personnel deployed in Somalia, alongside non-lethal equipment and related support services.
The EU said the support will strengthen AUSSOM’s operational readiness and help it implement its mandate while complying with international human rights and humanitarian law. It added that the mission remains critical in protecting civilians and maintaining security in areas threatened by Al-Shabaab and other armed groups.
Those financial strains continued through subsequent transitions from AMISOM to African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS), and now AUSSOM, with repeated concerns over delayed donor pledges, troop allowances, logistics and the cost of supporting security handover efforts.
AUSSOM is expected to assist Somali forces as they gradually assume greater responsibility for national security, a process complicated by persistent militant attacks and capacity gaps within the Somali National Army.
The EU said funding under the EPF forms part of a broader strategy to support peace and stability in Somalia and across the Horn of Africa, including continued assistance to Somali security institutions.