By Mercy Peter
The Economic Community of West African States has been urged to seek a new way of engaging with the countries of the Alliance of Sahel States (Alliance des Etats du Sahel) AES-Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger.
Head of European Delegation to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Ambassador Gautier Mignot gave the advice on Monday in Abuja.
Mignot stressed that the EU was not in support of ECOWAS splitting, as it believed that regionalism is the path to prosperity and stability.
He therefore described the decision by the three countries to pull out of the West African regional body as a regrettable one.
He said: “It is a decision that we regret, because we support very much, West African integration. We are ourselves probably the most autonomous model of regional integration in the world, and we think that this is a path to prosperity, to unity, to stability in all regions of the world, and especially in West Africa. So splitting doesn’t seem to us a good idea.”
While noting that it was not up to the EU to tell ECOWAS how to handle the situation, he however said the EU would readily avail itself by sharing its experience of how it went about it with the exit of the United Kingdom.
He said: “And of course, as in other issues, if we can get any help, we would be happy to share our experience, our expertise with ECOWAS. Indeed, we had the experience of a former member state which decided to exit the European Union. And how did we manage to have a possible smooth exit ? It was through negotiation and dialogue.
“It was not easy. It took some time, but finally we reached an agreement with the United Kingdom, an agreement on the modalities of the exit and an agreement on our new relationship with them. And now we have constant dialogue on also adjusting this new agreement and trying to see how to make our new relationship more efficient.
“So, you know, even if you leave regional integration mobilisation, geographically you remain neighbours and you have to find new ways of coexisting and cooperating.
“So we hope very much that ECOWAS and the European Union will be able to do that also.”
On the EU engagement with the three allied countries belonging to the AES, the envoy said, “First, we have to remind that the EU has maintained its humanitarian aid in these countries. And we have adapted our development cooperation, focussing on support to the population.
“Because we are concerned about the security and humanitarian situation in the Sahel, the number of displaced people, refugees, and people in need of assistance, which is reaching unprecedented levels. And there is ongoing work in Brussels towards a renewed approach in the Sahel, for which, of course, dialogue and exchanges with partners in the region.”
