The High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Federica Mogherini, announced on Tuesday 12 November that Defence Ministers wanted to increase the European presence in the Sahel.
“We have decided to increase our presence and improve the level of support we provide to our partners in the Sahel”, she explained at the end of the Defence Council, but said that this had not been discussed in detail. “There was a convergence on the fact that the EU, the Member States will increase their presence, their efforts to support the security forces, but also the political and diplomatic efforts in the Sahel, in particular in Mali and Burkina Faso – the countries most exposed to security risks – with major coordination with the various forms of presence on the ground”, she added.
Ms Mogherini said that the ministers had also discussed the need to improve and increase the presence and work of Europeans in the Horn of Africa, both in Somalia and off the coast of the Horn of Africa, through the maritime operation Atalanta.
More generally, she called on Member States to ensure that EU missions and operations have adequate human and financial resources to carry out their mandate. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)