MEPs said they were “extremely concerned” about the rising tensions between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda in the east of the DRC, which are worsening the humanitarian situation and threatening the security of the entire Great Lakes region in Africa (see EUROPE 13121/22). This was demonstrated by the debate they had on the evening of Tuesday 14 February in a sparsely attended Chamber.
They called on Rwanda to stop supporting the M23, on all parties to the conflict to implement the decisions taken in the Luanda and Nairobi processes, and on the EU to “use all its influence” to put an end to hate speech and barbarism in the two Kivus in favour of lasting peace.
The role of raw material exploitation in the DRC was highlighted. “Paramilitary groups are fighting over resources such as cobalt, tantalum and other raw materials. This fuels hate speech. It is about cooperating by supporting the DRC, helping it to strengthen its institutions and set up a stable government”, said György Hölvényi (EPP, Hungarian). He called on the EU to mobilise “all diplomatic means to ensure that the political conditions for reconciliation are established”.
Referring to the raw materials used for our mobile phones, Malte Gallée (Greens/EFA, German) sees the EU’s legislative proposal on critical raw materials, expected in March, as a unique opportunity to foster the industrialisation of the DRC by allowing people, for example, “to develop a battery industry that respects the environment and human rights, in partnership with us, rather than with China or Russia”.
For Belgian MEP Hilde Vautmans (Renew Europe), “the suffering has gone on long enough in this powder keg which is in danger of bursting into flames” and “the solutions are known but remain on paper”.
“How many more suffocated territories will it take for the EU to react?”, added his compatriot Marc Botenga (The Left). (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)