Comoros

Situated at the northern end of the Mozambique Channel, the archipelago of the Comoros consists of four islands, three of which, Grande Comore (Ngazidja), Anjouan (Ndzwani) and Mohéli (Mwali), covering an area of 1 861 km2, form the Union of the Comoros, while the fourth, Mayotte (Mahoré), remained French when the Comoros gained independence. The country has an estimated population of 600 000 and a very high average population density of 320 inhabitants per km2. With a per capita GDP of €520 and a human development index ranking of 132nd out of 177 countries in 2005, the Comoros belongs to the group of least developed countries, and its island economy suffers from a lack of diversification and low productivity.

The political instability that has characterised the Comoros since independence, the weak capacity of its state institutions and difficulties with public finances (the salaries of government officials have been paid only sporadically over the past ten years and public investment has been too low), rapid population growth and overall economic recession have made it impossible to alleviate poverty. Unemployment - particularly youth unemployment - is endemic. The country depends principally on agriculture, but is not self-sufficient in food production, and exports of its cash crops are stagnating. The economy is more dependent than ever on remittances from Comorians abroad and the resumption of aid from the international community. One factor promoting stability is that the national currency is pegged to the franc/euro.

The process of national reconciliation between the three autonomous islands and the Union, which began in 2001 with strong support from the region and the international community, resulted in a new constitution. The finalisation of the GPRSD (2006-2009) and the donors' meeting at the end of 2005 are both encouraging signs. The EU (mainly France + EC) remains easily the country's most important partner. The presidential election in mid-2006, which was monitored and financed by the international community, led to a change of government. The new government supplemented the priorities in the GPRSD with a stronger commitment to progress on questions of governance (the fight against corruption and comprehensive reform of the judiciary). The country's principal constraints relate to the lack of national financial resources to cover basic expenditure.

The present strategy document takes account of the 2006 evaluation of the EC's cooperation strategies with the Comoros, and is the product of intensive talks with the government, Comorian civil society in the three islands, France and the other partners.

The programming of funds from the 10th EDF focuses on two areas of intervention, adopting a sectoral approach: transport infrastructure (based on an approach giving full guarantees as to the maintenance and sustainability of the investment) and consolidation of measures already under way in education (with an emphasis on technical and vocational training). Governance and institutional support form a cross-cutting "non-focal" sector.

The first concentration area is therefore the maintenance and rehabilitation of the transport infrastructure (roads), which will receive 50 to 60% of the A allocation for the NIP (approximately €27 million). The second is continued support for education, which will receive 25 to 35% of the A allocation (approximately €11.25 million). The remaining 15% of the A allocation (approximately €6.75 million) will go towards improving governance (finance, justice, decentralisation) and the corresponding institutional support. It will be implemented using the project approach. However, if there are signs of progress being made in the management of public finances in the near future, consideration might be given, in cooperation with other donors, to implementing some programmes in the form of budget support.