The European Union confirmed, on Monday 31 July, that it did not recognise Niger’s new strongman, the putschist General Abdourahamane Tchiani (see EUROPE 13232/16, 13231/7). Reiterating its support for President Mohamed Bazoum, who is still being held in his residence, it also expressed its support for the sanctions imposed on Niger on Sunday by the leaders of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and announced the suspension of all security cooperation with Niamey.
“The European Union associates itself with the firm condemnations expressed by the Heads of State of the sub-region against the unacceptable coup in Niger”, stressed the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, in a statement issued on Monday on behalf of the EU27.
The day before, the heads of state of the ECOWAS countries, meeting in Abuja (Nigeria) for an extraordinary summit, had imposed an economic embargo and financial sanctions on Niger. They also gave those responsible for the military coup a one-week ultimatum to restore constitutional order, not ruling out military intervention if President Mohamed Bazoum was not reinstated.
“President Bazoum was democratically elected; he is and remains the only legitimate President of Niger. Any authority other than his own cannot be recognised. He must return, immediately and unconditionally, to the freedom and fullness of his high functions”, added Mr Borrell. The contacts established by the EU to this end continued over the weekend, in particular with President Bazoum, whom the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, indicated on Twitter/X that he had called again on Sunday evening.
“The European Union supports all the measures adopted by ECOWAS in response to this coup and will support them rapidly and resolutely”, said Mr Borrell. He added: “The Union rejects all accusations of foreign interference”.
After the violence, which saw thousands of demonstrators in Niger support the military regime, with some attacking the French embassy in Niger, wave the Russian flag and demand the departure of French troops, as demanded by the military junta, Mr Borrell said: “We hold the putschists responsible for any attack on civilians and diplomatic personnel or facilities”.
In a statement published on Monday by the French Foreign Ministry, Paris also said it supported the economic and financial sanctions imposed by ECOWAS.
On the same day, the putschists accused Paris of preparing to “intervene militarily”, according to AFP.
In another statement published on Saturday, Mr Borrell announced that the EU was suspending “sine die and with immediate effect” all security cooperation.
Asked by EUROPE how many people from the EUMPM Niger military partnership mission (see EUROPE 13197/22) were still on site, an EU spokesperson was cautious: “For security reasons, we are not disclosing the number of people currently on the ground”. This CSDP mission was launched last February (see EUROPE 13125/11).
On Monday, Germany announced that it was suspending its bilateral cooperation with Niger. The threat of suspension of direct EU budget support for development cooperation with Niger had already been brandished last week. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang with Camille-Cerise Gessant)