With our correspondent in Brussels, Pierre Benazet
“African solutions to African problems” is the position of theEuropean Union after consultations on Niger which took place in Spain. To this meeting, the Spanish presidency invited Gambian Omar Touray, president of the ECOWAS Commission, and Hassoumi Massoudou, foreign minister of the government hunted by the junta.
And the EU is ready to listen to all proposals ECOWAS, emphasizes the head of European diplomacy Josep Borrell. According to him, we must use all the political instruments at the EU’s disposal. “We have expressed our full support for ECOWAS’s efforts to exert maximum pressure on the Nigerian junta. We prefer the diplomatic solution, nobody wants military intervention,” said Josep Borrell.
And added: “And military coups are not a solution.” In Niger, President Bazoum was the only democratically elected president in the entire Sahel region. »
The Europeans have therefore decided to suspend all budgetary, military and security aid to Niger, including those that do not directly benefit the population. Sanctions against the putschists are also being prepared.
In any case, a clear distinction must be made for Europeans with the situation in Gabonwhere there was a coup shortly after the results were announced because the electoral process had raised “strong concerns” from the EU.