The CSDP mission for the Sahel will wait a little longer... (Update)

(BRUSSELS2) The "Sahel" dossier should not be on the table of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Defense. To the great displeasure of several countries, in particular France and Spain, which are pushing for Europe to invest in security matters in this region, in particular via a PeSDC mission, and not only focus on development . " To resettle the population in the north (of Mali, Niger), security is needed, and soldiers in the area explains a diplomat green with impatience. But " we row ". One of the ideas developed would go through the training of personnel from these different countries, the supply of equipment, but also through increased support for Cemoc - the coordination of the Chiefs of Staff of the countries of the region (Algeria, Niger, Mauritania, Mali ) and a dialogue with Algeria, a country without which nothing can be done in the region (*).

A slow realization

Around the table of COPS ambassadors, feelings are indeed divided. But feelings change. The British would be ready to let an operation take place while the Germans are not "against". Central and Eastern European countries are not very enthusiastic. This area looks like a Near ". We are wary of this "new" Franco-Spanish idea, just like of a new mission based on the fight against terrorism (the Iraqi and Afghan memory is still very present), and we would prefer that the missions in progress like EUMM Georgia or Althea Bosnia are better provided for.

The “problem”: the EEAS

But what is missing above all, apparently, is an initiative of the European diplomatic service. " The problem is the EEAS “, specifies an expert of the file, undoubtedly too polite not to indicate the source of the problem: Catherine Ashton who is not interested in the file. A document should be prepared. But apparently it won't be ready until... December 8th. A few days after the meeting of ministers! Sharp comment from our expert: “ You know. It's like the guy who comes to turn on the electricity for the wedding and arrives the next day. It's good. But it's a bit late. The wedding took place by candlelight and is already over. This is the EEAS ! ".

Comments : this slowness is reminiscent - all things considered - of the prelude to the anti-piracy operation Eunavfor Atalanta or EUTM Somalia. We find a small group of very upbeat countries (the same, French and Spanish) and the other wait-and-see or reluctant countries. In 2008, under the impact of the seizure of boats by pirates, several countries in this second group (United Kingdom, Netherlands, Italy, etc.) had shifted, become aware of the need for a CSDP operation, gave the green light to the operation, even pushed for a rapid realization. All helped - it is true - by a High Representative who knew how to push a case through the interstices of uncertainty. I wrote then, pirates are the best allies of the European Union. This may sound cynical. But that's the reality. And the scenario seems to be repeating itself today. The latest events in the Sahel - 2 French, 1 Dutch, 1 Swede, 1 South African kidnapped and 1 German killed in two separate events last Thursday and Friday (24 and 25 November), some in the village of Hombori near the Niger border, the others in Timbuktu (Mali) - could accelerate this awareness. I'm afraid that we still need, unfortunately, two or three... before Europe takes action.

(Shift) Accelerate work

The 27 recognized on December 1 to remain “ engaged to face the challenges of security in the Sahel". They asked to "the High Representative to move forward with the preparatory work for a subsequent review by the end of the year with the aim of an engagement of the PSD to strengthen security capacities in the region, in close cooperation with the African Union »

(*) The CEMOC - Joint Operational Staff Committee - was created two years ago. It has been installed since April 2010 in Tamanrasset in Algeria and chaired by a general from one of the four founding countries on an annual rotation. It is a Mauritanian, Brigadier General Mohamed Ould Cheikh, who recently took over the presidency, succeeding his Malian counterpart. The Cemoc has several functions: collecting and using intelligence, setting up a common radio network (the "Ténéré network), planning a multinational headquarters and organizing coordinated operations.