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Along with France, the former colonial ruler and main diplomatic presence in the region, the EU's diplomatic corps, was blindsided by the recent coups in Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger and Gabon (Photo: pjotter05)

EU's lost influence in Sahel is 'a disaster', experts tell MEPs

The EU must accept the 'new realities' of military regimes in the Sahel region or risk losing what remains of its influence to Russia and China, experts have warned MEPs.

"It is a disaster to see how much the EU has lost influence in the Sahel region," said Ulf Laessing, the director of the regional Sahel programme at the Konrad Adenauer Foundation in Mali, at a hearing of the European Parliament's foreign affairs and development committees on Tuesday (23 January),

French presi...

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Author Bio

Benjamin Fox is a seasoned reporter and editor, previously working for fellow Brussels publication Euractiv. His reporting has also been published in the Guardian, the East African, Euractiv, Private Eye and Africa Confidential, among others. He heads up the AU-EU section at EUobserver, based in Nairobi, Kenya.

Along with France, the former colonial ruler and main diplomatic presence in the region, the EU's diplomatic corps, was blindsided by the recent coups in Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger and Gabon (Photo: pjotter05)

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Author Bio

Benjamin Fox is a seasoned reporter and editor, previously working for fellow Brussels publication Euractiv. His reporting has also been published in the Guardian, the East African, Euractiv, Private Eye and Africa Confidential, among others. He heads up the AU-EU section at EUobserver, based in Nairobi, Kenya.

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