Josep Borrell, head of European diplomacy (center), with the 27 foreign ministers of the European Union, in Toledo, Thursday August 31, 2023. ANDREA COMAS / AP
At their meeting on Thursday August 31 in Toledo (Spain), European Union Foreign Ministers remained extremely cautious about the position they want to take in the Sahel. If they agree to create a sanctions regime against the junta that has ruled Niger since July 26, things will look completely different at the military level. The prospect of military intervention, once mentioned by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), is currently completely out of the question. France, which supports this option if necessary, seemed isolated.
The coup in Gabon on August 30 was also mentioned and condemned, but “it has nothing to do with the situation in Niger,” emphasized Josep Borrell, the head of European diplomacy. In Niger, a democratically elected president was deposed, while in Gabon the president was reappointed after elections whose democratic nature raised many doubts. »
In general, Mr Bongo’s fate has been far less discussed than that of his Nigerian counterpart Mohamed Bazoum, who has been under house arrest since July 26. “The coup in Niger marks a new era of instability in the Sahel,” commented Mr Borrell. And the foreign ministers made it clear: priority must be given to the diplomatic path to restoring constitutional order. They also reiterated their desire to find an African solution to the African situation, which is why we support ECOWAS. »
France “has no interest in showing itself”
The President of the ECOWAS Commission, Omar Alieu Touray, and the Foreign Minister of the ousted government in Niger, Hassoumi Massoudou, were invited to Toledo to explain the situation on the ground, recalling that “the only framework for dealing with this crisis this is “the ECOWAS”. On Thursday evening, its president, Bola Tinubu, head of state of Nigeria, proposed in a press release a nine-month transition of the military in power in Niger, as happened in his country in the 1990s. The organization would be without “positive adjustments” by the military has not been relaxed in Niamey, the press release continues.
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“Europe must not impose its solution from outside,” said Austrian diplomatic chief Alexander Schallenberg. Catherine Colonna, her French counterpart, was very discreet and avoided microphones and cameras. “Today France is being targeted in Niger, so it has no interest in showing itself,” explains a European diplomat.
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