Preparing for post-Gbagbo or post-Gaddafi, the EU is preparing for it
(BRUSSELS2) It may seem out of place to prepare an "after" while the Ivorian Gbagbo and the Libyan Gaddafi are still clinging to power, and continue to sow terror in their country. However, "we must now prepare for the future", especially in Ivory Coast where the weight of the former president is decreasing and seems close to the exit. " We are thinking about after Gbagbo, emergency measures and other longer-term ones we confide to the European diplomatic service.
Emerging from the crisis in Côte d'Ivoire
For the new Ouattara government, the task will not be easy. The country is completely wiped out. "And we're going to have to get the economy going again, very quickly." EU has already planned to lift some economic sanctions. And others may follow. " We are beginning to dismantle, little by little, the system of sanctions put in place comments a European diplomat.
The 27 have, in fact, decided on Friday to lift “ at once " the restrictive measures taken against certain entities, " in order to support the legitimate authorities of Côte d'Ivoire, in response to their request ". Thus the autonomous ports of Abidjan and San Pedro, the Ivorian Refining Company and the Coffee and Cocoa Sector Management Committee are " removed from the list of entities subject by the European Union to an asset freeze (Nb: The texts adopted on Friday, by written procedure, will be published in the OJ on April 12).
We will also have to take care of humanitarian issues » many in the country, prepare for the return and resettlement of displaced persons. In a second step, it will be necessary to assist the reconciliation process, by supporting a DDR (Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration) process which could be led by or with the United Nations, or even support a process of restructuring the armed forces (EUSEC type) , assist the authorities in carrying out an investigation into the various "war crimes" committed in recent years, or even set up a special tribunal.
Current reflection on Libya
In Libya, it is still probably too early to concretely think about such mechanisms. But some reflections are already underway to draw the contours of the future new Libya. Different avenues are mentioned to allow a political process of structuring the rule of law and strengthening democracy - election monitoring, establishment of justice and a police that meet the standards of a rule of law ( Eujust Lex mission type in Iraq), border surveillance if necessary (Eubam mission type), mine clearance, etc. The means will not necessarily be those of the PESDC, but all those available since the Lisbon Treaty could be used: development, democracy, security forces...
Libya and Côte d'Ivoire could thus be the first full-scale tests of the capacity of the new European External Action Service to deploy its full range of resources in post-crisis situations.
