The EU will conduct a strategic review of its military and civilian missions in Africa in early 2022, after reports that EU instructors may provide training for local forces in the Central African Republic controlled by Russian mercenary Wagner.
It is believed that Wagner is owned by Yevgeny Prigozin, a close partner of Russian President Vladimir Putin, and has ties to Russia’s political elite.
In 2014, the mercenary organization provided services to the government when it supported pro-Russian separatists in the conflict in eastern Ukraine, which first attracted public attention. Since then, it has set foot in countries such as Syria, Mozambique, Sudan and the Central African Republic.
Earlier this week, the European Union imposed sanctions, including freezing the assets of the Russian mercenary organization Wagner and eight senior commanders under the European Union’s global human rights sanctions regime.
It suspended military training missions in the Central African Republic (CAR) and repatriated 70 European instructors to their home countries because Wagner allegedly “controlled” its armed forces.
The EU’s decision to impose sanctions was warmly welcomed by the US State Department, but it is bound to force people to rethink the EU’s mission in Africa.
In response to a question from EURACTIV, European Commission Foreign Affairs Spokesperson Peter Stano stated that the EU is “increasingly shocked by the activities of the Wagner Group” because “their legal status and how they operate, their goals and objectives are ambiguous. .”
Stano said: “In this ambiguous situation, it is obviously very difficult to prevent and ensure accountability for possible violations of human rights and international humanitarian law,” Stano said.
The European Union has now readjusted its mission in the Central African Republic. According to reports, Wagner’s agents are training local forces in addition to the activities that European instructors have been engaged in.
“The report shows that the Central African Armed Forces have received Wagner’s bilateral support; this cooperation was established without any transparency,” Stano said.
“We are concerned that not all security actors in the Central African Republic comply with international participation standards, especially international humanitarian law,” he said.
“We also emphasize the importance of all international partners acting in a transparent and coordinated manner, and we have expressed our concerns about this to the highest-level government of the Central African Republic,” he added.
Borel’s spokesperson also stated that the European Union did not directly cooperate with the United Nations’ Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic, but led the country’s defense sector reform.
“EUTM is a training mission, not a combat mission. It is not on the battlefield, nor does it fight with the Central African Armed Forces (FACA in French) on the battlefield. What needs to be clear is that we are not cooperating with the Wagner Group anywhere. ,” Stano clarified.
He confirmed that “FACA has no plans to receive EUTM additional training at present or in the short term. This is a temporary operational measure.”
“For now, this means that EUTM CAR will temporarily refocus its work on providing strategic advice to the Ministry of Defense and military headquarters,” he added.
However, the decision to impose sanctions on the Wagner Group will have an impact on the EU missions that support local forces in Mozambique and the Sahel, where Wagner soldiers provide services similar to those of the Central African Republic.
After reports that the Malian government may hire Wagner, France has threatened to withdraw its troops in Mali.
In September, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian stated that the existence of Russian mercenaries was “incompatible with our existence.” The then German Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karenbauer (Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer) also agrees with this position.
Earlier this year, several European member states, including the Czech Republic, Alarm bells sounded Regarding how Russia portrays the EU’s training mission in Mali (EUTM Mali), Moscow is pushing for the “EU occupancy of Mali”.
Several European countries, including Sweden, Denmark and the Netherlands, hope that the EU training mission in Mali will remain in place. The mission of the mission must be extended by the end of this year.
The EU has suspended its budget support for Mali. In addition to talks with the Wagner Group, the military government has recently held a series of meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
[Edited by Alice Taylor]
