The Director General of the European Union Military Staff, Hervé Bléjean, stressed on Wednesday 16 June that the EU training mission in Mali (EUTM Mali) was continuing normally, despite the coup d’état on 24 May (see EUROPE 12728/17).
“We have decided, in common agreement with the Member States, to continue the activities of EUTM Mali for the time being. Training activities and exercises will continue without any significant changes”, he explained at a hearing in the European Parliament. The EU has already trained over 16,000 men and women.
Mr Bléjean explained that a new light reconnaissance and intervention unit had begun training at the beginning of June and that the initial training of an intelligence analyst unit, for the benefit of the armed forces of Burkina Faso, had begun on 14 June.
“The only change to the EUTM is that there is no longer any communication about what we are doing for the Malian armed forces”, he added.
The Director General said the EU was “obviously” keeping a “close eye on political developments and possible movements within the command of the FAMA (Malian Armed Forces)”, which could change the decision to continue with the mission.
Mr Bléjean highlighted that the coup was not a military coup, but a coup by the Vice President, who is indeed a military man. He explained that he had spoken to the Malian Chief of Staff, who had disassociated himself from the coup and called for the neutrality of the armed forces.
According to Mr Bléjean, should the situation develop unfavourably, the mission could prioritise support to the G5 Sahel and the extension of the mandate to Burkina Faso and Niger, and coordinate only technically with Malian military counterparts to prepare for a return to normality, and focus on essential training, i.e. combat first aid, human rights and humanitarian law. He added that the security needs of the country remained unchanged and that suspending the mission would be detrimental to security.
According to the Director General, if, due to French announcements to end Operation Barkhane, EUTM would have to do more, it would “inevitably” involve strengthening the advisory pillar. He stated that the deployment of expert, competent officers with a good command of French was necessary, and that the mission’s advisory team lacked half the necessary human resources. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)