Paris worried EU partners' commiment could wane after Goita's show of force

摘要

For the past two years, France has been pushing for greater engagement from its fellow European Union members in the Sahel region but could see these efforts scuppered after the transitional president Bah N'Daw was forced to resign on 25 May (AI, 28/05/21). One of the countries likely to stall their commitment to the Sahel is Denmark, which had just voted to send 105 soldiers to the region, 60 of which with the European task force Takuba. Belgium, Estonia - which already has several thousand soldiers in Mali -, the Netherlands, Portugal, Sweden, and Italy have also all shown willingness to join Takuba. Nevertheless, the country's political instability, marked by two back-to-back military coups in less than nine months and with the key posts of power now in the hands of the military, has weakened EU commitment.