A Decade of EU Support to the G5 Sahel: A Critical Assessment of the EU’s Security Assistance Toolkit
In
From 2013 to 2023, the European Union was a key player in Sahel security. This crisis-ridden region was chosen as a testing ground for a new comprehensive European approach, mobilising all available foreign policy tools at the disposal of Brussels-based institutions. The goal was to establish the EU as a major strategic actor, on par with geopolitical powers defending their interests and values globally. The geographical proximity, migration issues, and security dynamics in West Africa justified an unprecedented European financial and human investment, prolonging and enriching the model used by the EU in supporting the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s political transition in the previous decade.
The brief but intense security cooperation between Sahelian states and Europe offered an opportunity to explore highly ambitious partnership avenues. Born from the conceptual innovation of European leaders and their desire to encourage interstate cooperation in the Sahel, the EU complemented its bilateral engagement with each affected country through a regional approach, embodied notably by its support for the rise of the G5 Sahel and its military force. Six unconstitutional regime changes and the later creation of the Alliance of Sahel States marked the political failure of the G5 Sahel endeavour, and a chapter in history has been closed.
CLICK “VIEW PDF” BELOW FOR ACCESS TO FULL EGMONT PAPER
(Photo credit: Guillaume Lacaille)