EU Approves €75M for AUSSOM Under European Peace Facility — Largest Single EU Contribution to AU Mission in Somalia

The Political and Security Committee of the Council of the European Union approved €75 million in additional support under the European Peace Facility (EPF) for the military component of the African Union Support and Stabilisation Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM) on April 23, 2026 — the largest single EU contribution to AU-led missions in Somalia. Total EU support to successive AU missions in Somalia since AMISOM's founding in 2007 now reaches nearly €2.8 billion, firmly cementing the EU as AUSSOM's largest international backer. The funding covers troop allowances, non-lethal equipment, and related services to strengthen AUSSOM's operational readiness and mandate delivery, conditioned on compliance with international human rights law and international humanitarian law. The timing is critical: AUSSOM — authorized at 12,626 troops but operating below that ceiling due to chronic underfunding — faces simultaneous pressures from Al-Shabaab's intensified offensive (including the April 19 seizure of Adan Yabal), Somalia's deepening political-constitutional crisis (21 days to presidential term expiry on May 15), and the US veto of a UNSC resolution that would have enabled UN cost-sharing for AU peacekeeping in Somalia. Ethiopia remains excluded from AUSSOM at the FGS's insistence, reducing available troop commitments. The EU contribution partially offsets the US-created funding gap. A joint EU-AU press release confirmed the Council's determination on April 21, 2026, with formal announcement April 23.