Some events are more memorable than others and serve as milestones of a term. I will always remember attending a ceremony in Paris in December 2019 to honor 13 French soldiers who had died in Mali. It was my first official act as High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.
I will also remember my visit to Niger in July. I witnessed the tangible results of EU-Niger cooperation with the inauguration of the Gorou Banda solar plant near Niamey. In Agadez I also saw hundreds of social housing built with EU aid. The ambitious vision and action of Nigerian President Mohamed Bazoum offered real hope in a region caught in authoritarian drift. That is why I was shocked by the military coup on July 26, shortly after my visit.
After a debate with my European counterparts, in the presence of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Niger and the President of the Commission of the Economic Community of West African States (CEDAO), I would like to share some thoughts on the situation in Niger and the Sahel.
We must maintain unwavering support for the democratically elected President Bazoum for “as long as necessary”, demanding the return to constitutional order in Niger. The future of democracy in the entire region is at stake. The democracy that the people of Niger want, the one that ECOWAS promotes and the one that the EU defends around the world.
Our support for ECOWAS must not weaken either. There is no room for secondary agreements or parallel mediation channels. As Europeans, we have been supporting the search for “African solutions to African problems” for a long time. At a time when ECOWAS is adopting an unprecedentedly firm and consistent attitude, we must put our words where our actions are.
In addition to defending its democratic values, the EU also has a great interest in Niger returning to the path of constitutional order. Another Sahelian country falling into the hands of a military junta would have far-reaching negative consequences for Europe in terms of security, migration flows and the geopolitical balance of power. It is a mistake to believe that military juntas could effectively combat terrorist movements or human trafficking. The best bulwarks against these threats are the democratic States with the ambition, the will and the means to create new opportunities for their people.
Certainly, the EU’s policy towards the Sahel has not been as successful as expected in recent years. Sometimes we have focused too much on the security dimension alone and our efforts to help strengthen the rule of law and provide basic services have not been sufficient or visible enough. The “strategic patience” we have shown towards the military boards of the region has also not had concrete results beyond encouraging new vocations….
Despite this necessary self-criticism, we must not forget that Europe’s road map to the Sahel in recent years has been Sahelian. We have committed our soldiers, our money and our political capital to the region because the Sahelian countries asked us to.
What can we do now? Suspend our budget support and security cooperation with Niger; work for the adoption of sanctions; and show our solidarity in response to the unjustified expulsion of the ambassador of one of our Member States. However, we must also go further. Since it would not be reasonable to keep doing the same thing and expect a different result, we need to take a different approach.
Security cooperation, visas and economic development programs need to be reconsidered, and we need to act quickly to decide what needs to change, both in Niger and in other countries in the Sahel. We will have to maintain this pulse with the military junta without falling into the traps set by the regimes that are based mainly on manipulation and disinformation. With few results in their anti-terrorist or economic development efforts, the boards of the region have found in these practices their most effective tools.
The Sahel is a test for the whole EU. No one should be complacent about the difficulties France is encountering in the region. It has become a convenient scapegoat for juntas to easily manufacture national cohesion while hiding their own failures and abuses. But France is not the problem in the Sahel; they are the military junta because they lack the means to really fight terrorism and the ambition to improve the daily life and future prospects of their population.
Those who rejoice, in Europe or elsewhere, at the difficulties encountered by Europeans in the Sahel do not correctly appreciate what is at stake. We will all pay a high price if we fail to remain coherent and united. Only a united Europe can influence the course of events. The coming weeks will tell if we live up to expectations in this strategic region.
