Small ambition, small mission

(B2, ticket) The South Sudan mission in Juba whose 27 have approved the concept of crisis management (*) can make you smile

It is indeed a question of “strengthening the security of the international airport in Juba”. And we can say that for this type of mission, which is more technical cooperation than a "real" peacekeeping mission, even soft, of the "observation" or "training" type, or the management of crises, there is not really a need for all the mechanisms necessary for European Defense operations. This is a fact that no one seeks to dispute today. A 'small ambition, small mission', one might say.

A virtue: keep the machine running

The only virtue of this type of mission is not to leave the instrument set up not without difficulty in the past, unused. It's quite weak. And we are impatiently waiting for the European Union to translate into more tangible facts its stated ambition to have a place in the world, as well as its international obligations. Otherwise, European foreign policy risks soon becoming nothing more than a machine for declarations and sanctions. This is probably already a result. But that's not really why we put in place all the provisions and structures of the Lisbon Treaty.

(Nicolas Gros-Verheyde)

(1) Read: Mission crisis management concept in Juba approved