Mali: for Berlin too, the military commitment of Europeans must be reassessed

After the expulsion of the French ambassador from Bamako, Europe is questioning its military commitment in Mali, while the country dominated by the ruling junta is at the heart of a diplomatic crisis with its allies.

Faced with the escalation of tensions between Mali and France, Germany clarified its position on Wednesday. In an interview given to the Suddeutsche Zeitung, the German Minister of Foreign Affairs, Annalena Baerbock, judges that the military commitment of Europeans in Mali should be reassessed. A declaration which comes two days after the decision of the junta to expel the French ambassador, Joël Meyer.

“In view of the latest measures taken by the Malian government, we must honestly ask ourselves if the conditions for the success of our joint commitment are still met. Our commitment is not an end in itself,” says the German minister. “We are in close consultation with our international partners and the European Union, in particular France, on the way in which we are going to continue our commitment on the ground”, she asserted. “We will also be addressing these critical issues with the Malian government in the coming days”adds Annalena Baerbock.

Engagement with Mali is guided by “long-term goals”underlines however the German minister, for whom it is a priority to ensure “the security of people, the stability and the development of the country”. The German army is currently engaged in Mali in two operations. 328 soldiers are taking part in the European Union Training Mission in Mali (EUTM) and 1,170 soldiers are joining the ranks of UN blue helmets.

The future of Bundeswehr soldiers in Mali will mainly be decided in May. The Bundestag will then have to decide whether or not the German army pursues these two missions. On January 22, the German Defense Minister, Christine Lambrecht, for her part had ruled out any idea of ​​a withdrawal of the soldiers deployed in Mali. She had assured that it was not necessary to leave room for the mercenaries of the sulphurous Russian paramilitary company Wagner, accused by Paris and its allies of being in Mali to “support” the junta.

Sweden and Denmark withdraw their armed forces

On the other hand, in Sweden, the questioning stage is now over. The government announced on January 14 its desire to end its participation in the anti-terrorist force Takuba, based in Mali. Their departure was nevertheless planned. In February 2020, Sweden had mobilized a force of 150 men on the ground and deployed helicopters for a period of one year, and therefore did not wish to extend. As for Denmark, their troops freshly mobilized within the Takuba task force were expelled over the weekend by the junta “on the basis of unfounded grounds”, said Monday, January 31 the Quai d’Orsay. Norway has also given up sending soldiers.

Since August 2020, Mali has been dominated by the military who seized power by force. Since the expulsion of its ambassador, Paris has been tempering and consulting its partners. This Tuesday, Gabriel Attal announced that France would discuss in the next two weeks with its allies the future of the European military presence in Mali. A debate will be held soon in Parliament, Prime Minister Jean Castex promised this Wednesday before the Senate, without giving a precise date.

France has been militarily engaged in the country since 2013 to fight terrorism, and still currently deploys around 2,500 men, to which is added the same number of soldiers divided between Burkina Faso, Niger and Chad. The host country, which had requested its intervention in 2013, now rejects it, at least symbolically. This operation, called Barkhane in 2014, cost around 1 billion euros in 2021.