Un état des lieux de la Stratégie européenne pour le Sahel : Désillusions et craintes pour l’avenir du Mali

27 December 2012

A summary of this note has been presented at the Conference organized by the Gabriel Péri Foundation on December 11th, 2012.

18 months after the adoption of the EU Strategy for Development and Security, the EU’s implication in the security issues that currently plague the Sahelian region is still confronted to a wide range of challenges and hindrances. In this piece of opinion, the author seeks to provide an assessment of the Strategy and focuses on three of its limitations: first, the lack of timeliness of its reaction. Secondly, the mismatch between ambitions and means for serving these aims. Thirdly, the discrepancy between the EU actions and the expectations and needs of the Sahel countries. Eventually, the paper concludes by providing clues on where the author believes the European security policy in the Sahel should head, and how.