This is a new step in intensifying the crackdown against the Nigerian junta. European foreign ministers agreed this Monday, October 23, to the creation of a sanctions framework against the junta in Niamey. After the general sanctions against the country, we could move on to specific cases.
Published on: October 23, 2023 – 11:34 p.m
1 minute
Following international sanctions against Niger, a second stage could be reached by the European Union (EU) in the coming weeks. This legal framework, adopted by the foreign ministers since Monday, opens the way for more targeted sanctions against representatives of the junta or their supporters.
“Military coups have their price [financier] », the head of European diplomacy, Joseph Borrel, has just explained, and therefore the EU could now meet the leaders of the junta in power through the portfolio. The arsenal – which still needs to be refined by a working group – could range from freezing the assets of those indexed to a ban on travel to Europe or the use of remittances from the European Union.
The council’s press release stated that those who endanger peace in Niger, commit human rights violations or undermine the constitutional order will be punished. At the moment, Brussels is not giving names or dates when making this threat. However, a diplomatic source clarifies that if the arsenal is close to completion by a working group, no sanctions will be imposed before consulting ECOWAS, which remains Niamey’s main interlocutor on the Niger crisis.
Also readNiger: European Foreign Ministers stand behind ECOWAS