At lunchtime on Monday 11 December, the foreign affairs ministers of the EU Member States, meeting in Council, discussed the options put to them by the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, for adapting the EU’s action to the new situation in the Sahel, on the basis of greater flexibility and cooperation on a case-by-case basis, but they have not yet reached an agreement (see EUROPE 13310/20). On the same day, the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) officially left Mali.
We discussed the Sahel, “where we are facing unprecedented challenges. We have taken note of the results of the ECOWAS summit”, which took place on Sunday in Abuja. “We will continue to support the ECOWAS mediation efforts”, particularly in Niger, declared Josep Borrell at the end of the Foreign Affairs Council.
In his view, “the situation is deteriorating in terms of security and governance” while “the military juntas are consolidating their power, dismantling democratic institutions and moving closer to Russia”.
On his arrival at the Council, Mr Borrell acknowledged that “the Member States still have different positions” on the preliminary document he presented to them. “I think we need to look at each country individually, and above all try to avoid a spillover of terrorist activity into the Gulf of Guinea”, he said.
At the end of the session, he pointed out that the CSDP mission launched the same day in the countries of the Gulf of Guinea (see other news) had been carried out at their request, in agreement with the countries of the region - Côte d’Ivoire, Togo and Benin.
In the opinion of Spain’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, José Manuel Albares Bueno, speaking on his arrival at the Council, “the European Union must continue to look towards the Sahel and we must find ways to remain committed and continue to cooperate and work with the different countries in the Sahel, especially those that continue to make efforts and commit themselves to democracy and the development of their own people”.
For the Romanian minister, Luminița Odobescu, one thing is clear: “Romania will continue to be involved in the region alongside its European partners”.
The German Secretary of State, Anna Lührmann, citing “the threat of power vacuums due to military coups”, stressed that the CSDP civilian mission launched on Monday demonstrated the desire “as the EU, to commit ourselves to ensuring that these conflicts do not spread to the whole of West Africa”.
Reflection on the recalibration of the EU’s strategy in the Sahel will continue in 2024. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)