What can the EU do in South Sudan?

If all eyes are on Libya at the moment, we must not forget the other states, in particular the neighbor to the south of Sudan. An FFM (fact finding mission) in other words an "exploratory mission" of the European Union returns from South Sudan. Made up of different agents, civilians (diplomats, development specialists, etc.) as well as EU soldiers, it has made it possible to take stock of the state of the country. A new State where everything is to be built: from the name of the country and its constitution to the government system, the transport networks...

If an action is launched on the European side, it could thus take several forms: humanitarian aid and development aid, of course (sectors in which the EU has been able to acquire significant competence. But also assistance in terms of security We are not yet talking about a PeSDC mission as such. But there are some interesting elements. The objective of the EU - says a specialist in the dossier - is to obtain "real added value" in the myriad of international or bilateral projects that are being set up (the UN agencies are there as well as the United States and the United Kingdom).

The EU could thus contribute its know-how in certain civil-military or rather civil-security fields, such as securing the airport, for example, or the establishment of a secure governmental communication system for the new State. All that remains now is to materialize these projects and obtain the political endorsement of the EU Member States.

NB: it is interesting to observe that on the flag alongside the colors black, red, green which are often present on the African flag are blue and the yellow star. One could believe that it is a question of European symbolism. It is not so. The blue represents the Nile and the star representing the hope and the union of the people (this 5-pointed star also appears on several African flags: Burkina, Cameroon, Congo and, in green, on that of Senegal) .