Toledo, Spain – EU defence ministers are expected to discuss the developing military situation in Gabon as well as the bloc’s wider approach to the Sahel, the EU’s chief diplomat Josep Borrell said on Wednesday (30 August) as the region faces increased instability.
A group of senior Gabonese military officers appeared on national television in the early hours of Wednesday and said they had taken power after the state election body announced the country’s President Ali Bongo had won a third term.
The signs of a military coup in Gabon come just weeks after members of the presidential guard in Niger seized power and established a junta.
“If this [Gabon] is confirmed, it is another military coup which increases instability in the whole region,” Borrell said, speaking to reporters before heading into an informal meeting of EU defence ministers in Toledo.
“The whole area – starting with Central African Republic, then Mali, then Burkina Faso, now Niger, maybe Gabon – it’s in a very difficult situation,” Borrell said.
Both EU foreign and defence ministers over the next two days “have to have a deep thought on what is going on there and how we can improve our policy in respect with these countries,” he said.
“This is a big issue for Europe,” the EU’s chief diplomat added.
EU foreign and defence ministers this week were expected to discuss a strategy to deal with the situation in Niger and reassess the bloc’s approach to the Sahel region, according to an internal memo seen by EURACTIV.
A few weeks ago, Niger became the latest in a row of countries in the region that have fallen into the hands of military juntas.
According to the memo, Borrell is expected to ask ministers how the EU should “adapt its approach to Niger”, which some EU officials say could include santions.
They will also be asked to reflect on how to “best safeguard our interests and objectives in the sub-region, particularly in the field of security (combating terrorism, countering the influence of the Wagner group) and controlling irregular migration when the three central Sahel states are ruled by military juntas and radical armed groups are pursuing a strategy of territorial expansion”.
The EU, one of Niger’s biggest contributors, has suspended its financial support – €503 million from its budget to improve governance, education and sustainable growth between 2021-2024 – and security cooperation with immediate effect.
Spain, as holder of the rotating EU presidency, invited Niger’s exiled Foreign Minister Hassoumi Massoudou as well as the current head of Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Commission for an informal lunch on Thursday (31 August).
[Edited by Alice Taylor]
