Members of the European Parliament criticised the European Union’s response to the escalating violence in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) during a plenary debate in Strasbourg on Tuesday 11 February.
Following the offensive by the M23 rebel group, supported by Rwanda, several MEPs called for the suspension of the EU-Rwanda Memorandum of Understanding on sustainable value chains for critical raw materials, signed in February 2024 (see EUROPE 13353/7).
“We know very well that the EU is investing in Rwanda. More than 900 million are going to Rwanda through the ‘Global Gateway’ [investment plan]. And much of this is linked to minerals. (....) We should be suspending the critical raw agreement with Rwanda.”, said Marit Maij (S&D, Dutch).
MEPs Thierry Mariani (PfE, French), Hilde Vautmans (Renew Europe, Belgian), Charles Goerens (Renew Europe, Luxembourger) and Marc Botenga (The Left, Belgian), among others, called for the suspension of the Memorandum of Understanding.
“Humanitarian organisations are particularly concerned and hope that stability will return to the country. This is only possible if certain countries stop funding military organisations for their own interests”, said Ingeborg ter Laak (Dutch), for the EPP.
The European Commissioner for the Mediterranean, Dubravka Šuica, argued to MEPs that “suspending [the Memorandum of Understanding] could be self defeating, as it would remove the basis for this engagement with Rwanda and undermine an incentive to ensure responsible mineral production and trade by Rwanda”.
“For several years, the EU has kept in place a regime of measure in view of the situation in DRC which complements the UN sanctions. These have targeted among other the leadership of armed group ‘M23’ and two Rwandan officers. This is a dynamic process the EU is closely monitoring (...) and can at any times extend the list of persons targeted”, added Ms Šuica following the request for EU sanctions against Kigali.
Greens/EFA appeal. In the margins of the debate, the Greens/EFA group formally demanded the immediate suspension of the Memorandum of Understanding by holding a press conference. Considering the EU to be “complicit” in the situation in the DRC, MEPs called for an end to military cooperation with Kigali and for targeted sanctions against those responsible for the violence (see EUROPE 13353/7).
“Signing an agreement with a country that uses violence to obtain these resources raises a moral and ethical question”, denounced Nobel Peace Prize winner Denis Mukwege, who was invited to speak. He says that ‘M23’ generates $800,000 a month by illegally exploiting Congolese resources.
MEPs called for an immediate embargo on Rwandan minerals and an investigation into the use of funds allocated to Rwanda, including via the European Peace Facility.
“We don’t know whether the €20 million that Europe is giving to Rwanda is funding this conflict”, said French MEP Majdouline Sbaï. Recalling the sanctions imposed on Russia after its invasion of Ukraine, Belgian MEP Saskia Bricmont called on the EU to “stop its diplomatic double standards”. (Original version in French by Bernard Denuit and trainee Justine Manaud)