The Deputy Director General for Africa at the European External Action Service, Bernard Quintin, announced on Wednesday 2 February that high-level discussions will take place within the next 15 days between Member States on the future of European operations and missions in Mali.
The EU has two Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) missions in the country: the EUTM Mali training mission and the EUCAP Sahel Mali advisory mission.
“There will be high-level discussions in the next 15 days at the European capitals level to define the best options” for the future, he explained at a hearing in the European Parliament’s Committee on Foreign Affairs.
He explained to MEPs that it had been “made clear to the Malian authorities that the EU is and acts as one”. “A clear link of both an operational and political nature exists between Barkhane, Takuba, the EU’s CSDP missions and the European Peace Facility”, he explained, adding that the different components had “different means, but equal accountability to the populations”.
According to the Deputy Director General, the political objective of fighting terrorism is not in question, but a reorientation and rebalancing on a Sahelian scale are under discussion.
On the same day, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said that the European military commitment in Mali should be reassessed. 328 German soldiers are participating in EUTM Mali and the Bundestag is to decide in May whether to continue their presence.
No cooperation with Wagner
Mr Quintin recalled that the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, had asked the Malian Foreign Minister, Abdoulaye Diop, for short-term guarantees that the military and civilian forces trained by CSDP missions and the equipment provided would not subsequently be used by the Wagner Group.
On Thursday 3 February, the head of the US Africa Command, General Stephen Townsend, said he had “reason to believe that the Malian government’s bill for Wagner’s services amounts to 10 million dollars per month”. According to him, this is paid in kind, via natural resources, such as gold or precious stones. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)