Thursday

28th Mar 2024

UN appoints 'big EU name' for Sahel job

The UN has hired mild-mannered former European Commission and Italian leader Romano Prodi to help pacify west Africa.

UN chief Ban Ki Moon and President Francois Hollande of France, a former colonial power in the region, unveiled Prodi's appointment as UN special envoy for the Sahel on Tuesday (9 October).

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Get the EU news that really matters

Instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

  • Prodi is said to have been angling for a UN post for the past few years (Photo: prodi.it)

They said he will co-ordinate a mixed bag of international projects out of a UN office in Italy.

The Sahel covers Chad, Mali, Mauritania, Niger and parts of Sudan, Cameroon and Nigeria.

The region is gearing up for war after nations in the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas) promised to help Mali storm Azawad, a breakaway territory conquered by Touareg tribes who used to fight for late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.

It is also home to laundry list of Islamist and organised crime groups.

Ban on Tuesday named Ansar Dine and the Movement for Unity and Jihad in West Africa (Mujao). But Al Qadea in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM, blamed for kidnapping French tourists) and Ansar Al Sharia (blamed for killing the US ambassador to Libya) are also active in the area.

Prodi is an economist and a two-time former Italian prime minister. He also led the EU commission from 1999 to 2004.

He has no experience in conflict mediation.

But Ban and EU leaders say his background in EU coalition politics make him the right man for the job.

"Prodi has a long and distinguished career in government and international diplomacy as a consensus-builder, having served as prime minister of Italy and president of the European Commission for several years," Ban said in a letter, obtained by Reuters, to UN colleagues earlier this month.

"The leadership and extensive experience of Romano Prodi will greatly contribute to mobilise the international response," EU Council chief Herman Van Rompuy said on Tuesday.

A UN official told the Washington Post that Prodi's main value will be in PR terms.

"We wanted to appoint someone with a big enough name so that this issue would not get ignored and swept under the carpet in a few months," the UN contact said.

The EU is getting increasingly involved in the Sahel to stop it becoming an Afghanistan-type base for terrorist operations in Europe.

EU countries in August launched Eucap Sahel Niger.

The €9-million, two-year-long operation will see some 50 EU police and military advisors help train security staff in Niger, Mali and Mauritania.

EU foreign ministers will next week also discuss how to help Ecowas to get the Touaregs out of Mali.

France's Hollande said on Tuesday that the EU will play a small role in the conflict.

"I want to remind you, since it's important, that this is an African force, and that therefore the Africans - and primarily the Malians - are responsible for the planning and force generation," he said.

A French foreign ministry spokesman the same day spoke of "logistical support."

"We know what we don't want to do: 'No boots on the ground' ... This isn't an expeditionary force that we're sending to Mali," he said.

Congo fatigue: EU funding in the heart of Africa

The Democratic Republic of Congo was last year the largest recipient of EU support among ACP states. But critics say this approach has failed, drawing a question mark over the EU's next step.

African club defends role in Libya conflict

Senior African envoy Jean Ping has told the EU and Nato that the African Union is keen to end the Libya crisis by diplomacy, not war, and with Russian help.

Opinion

Lessons for the EU in Sahel, from Afghanistan

Former UK ambassador to Mali and Niger, who also served in Kabul, reflects on the implications of the Taliban's victory in Afghanistan for EU policy in the Sahel.

Opinion

Why UK-EU defence and security deal may be difficult

Rather than assuming a pro-European Labour government in London will automatically open doors in Brussels, the Labour party needs to consider what it may be able to offer to incentivise EU leaders to factor the UK into their defence thinking.

Latest News

  1. Orban's Fidesz faces low-polling jitters ahead of EU election
  2. German bank freezes account of Jewish peace group
  3. EU Modernisation Fund: an open door for fossil gas in Romania
  4. 'Swiftly dial back' interest rates, ECB told
  5. Moscow's terror attack, security and Gaza
  6. Why UK-EU defence and security deal may be difficult
  7. EU unveils plan to create a European cross-border degree
  8. How migrants risk becoming drug addicts along Balkan route

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Nordic Council of MinistersJoin the Nordic Food Systems Takeover at COP28
  2. Nordic Council of MinistersHow women and men are affected differently by climate policy
  3. Nordic Council of MinistersArtist Jessie Kleemann at Nordic pavilion during UN climate summit COP28
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersCOP28: Gathering Nordic and global experts to put food and health on the agenda
  5. Friedrich Naumann FoundationPoems of Liberty – Call for Submission “Human Rights in Inhume War”: 250€ honorary fee for selected poems
  6. World BankWorld Bank report: How to create a future where the rewards of technology benefit all levels of society?

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Georgia Ministry of Foreign AffairsThis autumn Europalia arts festival is all about GEORGIA!
  2. UNOPSFostering health system resilience in fragile and conflict-affected countries
  3. European Citizen's InitiativeThe European Commission launches the ‘ImagineEU’ competition for secondary school students in the EU.
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersThe Nordic Region is stepping up its efforts to reduce food waste
  5. UNOPSUNOPS begins works under EU-funded project to repair schools in Ukraine
  6. Georgia Ministry of Foreign AffairsGeorgia effectively prevents sanctions evasion against Russia – confirm EU, UK, USA

Join EUobserver

EU news that matters

Join us