The high-level event, which takes place in year of the 50th anniversary of the Organisation of the African Union (OAU), will launch the preparations of the 4th Africa-EU Summit, due to take place in Brussels in April 2014. The meeting will further strengthen bilateral cooperation and political dialogue between the two continents, promote shared interests and tackle common regional and global challenges within the Joint Africa-EU Strategy. President Barroso said: "Africa and Europe are each other's closest neighbours.
The partnership between the European Commission and the African Union is becoming ever more relevant by the day. I look forward to our next College-to-College (C2C) meeting, an event which symbolises the cooperation, convergence and complicity between the two sister organisations that have been driving regional integration in both Europe and Africa. I am proud of what we have achieved together so far. And I am convinced that we can do much more in the future by jointly tackling our shared challenges, from climate action to regional security, eradicating poverty and sharing the benefits of trade and growth." Most recently, the EU granted ?50 million to support the African-led International Support Mission to Mali (AFISMA) through the African Peace Facility, which supports the African Union and regional African organisations in carrying out peace-keeping operations such as AMISOM in Somalia and MICOPAX in the Central African Republic. Through the African Peace Facility, the European Union covers mainly the non-military costs of the force, such as the daily allowances, and transport and medical costs. Since 2004, the EU has provided more than ?1.1 billion through the African Peace Facility to prevent conflict and promote peace, for example in Darfur, Somalia, and the Central African Republic.
