The European Commission on Tuesday presented its first progress report on the implementation of the partnership framework with third countries to more effectively manage migration together.
Four months after the Commission proposed this new framework under the European agenda on migration and its endorsement by the EU summit in June, the bloc's partnership approach with countries of origin and transit of migration is starting to yield results, the report says.
The partnership framework started with five priority countries, namely Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Mali and Ethiopia.
Federica Mogherini, the EU's foreign policy chief, told a press briefing that the partnership framework allowed Europe to work in a "productive, constructive and respectful manner" with its partners to tackle the migration crisis.
She said that a total of 95 programs for the amount of 987 million euros (1.08 billion U.S. dollars) had been adopted, and 24 projects funded by the EU Trust Fund for Africa representing over 425 million euros will be launched in the five priority countries by the end of this year.
"The core objectives of these partnerships and the projects are first of all saving lives, priority number one for the EU," Mogherini said, "The second is to disrupt the smuggling networks."
She added that the most encouraging data in terms of decreases in the transit of migrants and increases in assisted voluntary returns were in Niger, while the situation remained "worrying" in Ethiopia due to "difficult economic and social conditions."