At their informal meeting (Gymnich) at the Palais d'Egmont on Saturday 3 February, the EU foreign ministers expressed their willingness to strengthen dialogue with African countries in order to deepen the strategic partnership with Africa in an increasingly difficult geopolitical context, particularly in the Sahel (see EUROPE 13341/17).
“Africa is too big and too varied to be called ‘Africa’. But we have been discussing the continent as a geopolitical priority, [and] our absolute determination to increase our dialogue and cooperation. We have a meeting pending at the ministerial level, and we will support Africa’s quest for greater representation in multilateral fora”, said the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, after the meeting.
Better coordination between Europeans. And he stressed the importance of coordination between Member States, which has been lacking in the Sahel.
“We have to increase our interaction and partnership with Africa, with a stronger coordination among us”, he stressed.
The date of the ministerial meeting with the African Union (AU) has not yet been set, according to the European External Action Service.
The Belgian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hadja Lahbib, also referred to it as a “necessity” to follow up on the EU/AU summit of February 2022 (see EUROPE 12894/1), “which really deserves to be extended to 2024 with the involvement of African countries and also the countries of the European Union”.
In this respect, Ms Hahbib pointed out that the Belgian Presidency of the EU Council has “put Africa at the top of the agenda” for the six-month period (see EUROPE 13321/2).
“It’s clear that, in some countries, we have difficulty defending the fact that we are one of the main partners in development cooperation. We suffer from a negative image that is conveyed by other countries”, said the Minister, advocating for “pragmatism in the regions and for all conflicts” and the “ pragmatic fight against the narratives” of third countries.
On the margins of the meeting, a breakfast was organised with the EU countries most involved in the Sahel, including France, Germany and Spain.
On her arrival, Anna Lührmann, the German Secretary of State, referring to the military regimes in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, the three countries of the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) with which the EU has suspended all cooperation and which have given notice of their immediate withdrawal from ECOWAS, told the press: “There can be no business as usual but at the same time we have to be pragmatic about not withdrawing completely from the region. We need to be able to deliver humanitarian aid and provide direct support to the population”. She also spoke of the crisis in Sudan, welcoming the targeted sanctions imposed by the EU “to apply pressure” and get the warring parties back to the negotiating table (see EUROPE 13333/3).
The Spanish minister, José Manuel Albares Bueno, referred to Africa as “a fundamental continent for both Europe and Spain”, and to the Sahel as a “priority area” where it is important to “maintain an EU presence”. In his view, ECOWAS is “an indispensable regional organisation”, and Mauritania and Senegal are key partners. On Saturday, Senegalese President Macky Sall announced that the presidential election on 25 February would be postponed indefinitely (see separate news item).
Following the options outlined in December for the flexible recalibration of the EU’s strategy in the region (see EUROPE 13311/5, 13311/25), the Gymnich exchange of views will feed into the formal meeting of the EU ‘Foreign Affairs’ Council on 19 February, where a country-by-country approach - including security and defence commitments - is to be presented, as Mr Borrell had announced at the end of the informal meeting of defence ministers (see EUROPE 13340/24). (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)