European Foreign Ministers reaffirmed on Monday 13 May in Brussels that the Sahel is a strategic priority for the EU and its Member States and that the EU stands by the authorities and people of this African region facing multiple challenges, as part of its integrated holistic strategy for the Sahel.
The exchange of views they had in preparation for their meeting on Tuesday with EU Defence Ministers and their counterparts from the G5 Sahel countries (Burkina Faso, Mali, Mauritania, Niger and Chad), as well as the discussion scheduled for Thursday 16 May at the Foreign Affairs Council in its Development format, testify to the strategic importance underlined by the EU Council in the conclusions it adopted (see EUROPE 12252/6).
“We will meet to discuss both the development and the security situation in the region. This entire region is not unlinked from the situation in Libya and for the European Union it is a top priority to stabilize as much as possible the entire region, supporting our partners in the Sahel and, in general terms, through a good cooperation with the African Union”, High Representative of the Union Federica Mogherini told the press.
The EU Council stresses that the onus primarily rests on the Sahelian States to address the region's political, security and development challenges - serious shortcomings in governance, the rule of law and the protection of human rights, the expansion of the terrorist threat, extremist violence and organized crime, climate change, endemic poverty, high population dynamics - all contributing to increased food insecurity, increased migration pressure and a worsening humanitarian situation. “The international community supports them in their efforts”, said the institution.
The EU reaffirms its commitment to the G5 Sahel (currently chaired by Burkina Faso), in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 2391, and recalls its significant support for the establishment of its governance structures, the operationalization of the Joint Force and the implementation of the G5 Sahel Priority Investment Programme (PIP) (see EUROPE 11968/7).
“Seriously concerned by the increase in terrorist and community violence in Mali and Burkina Faso”, the EU calls on the authorities to launch or speed up investigations and leave no room for impunity. It also calls on them to dissolve all militias and to launch, “an ambitious and inclusive political process of dialogue and reconciliation for the regions concerned”. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)