The European Union, EU, has said it is suspending its budgetary support and security cooperation with Niger Republic following the coup d’etat that ousted President Mohamed Bazoum.
The EU foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, made this known in a statement on Saturday, July 29, 2023.
The organization also said it will support more sanctions on the military government from the Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS, currently chaired by Nigeria’s President, Bola Tinubu.
The EU had earmarked $554 million to support Niger’s yearly budget from 2021-2024.
Recall that elites in the country’s Presidential Guard on Wednesday, July 29, 2023, detained President Bazoum alleging leadership failure of the political class. The coup plotters who eventually got the backing of the rest of the country’s Armed Forces, announced the overthrow of Bazoum’s government and also closed the country’s borders.
EU has said it does not recognize and will not recognize the authorities that overthrew the democratic government of Niger Republic.
Borrell, while announcing the indefinite suspension of EU’s financial support to Niger, he called on ECOWAS to do the needful in terms of sanctions.
“President Bazoum was democratically elected; he is and therefore remains the only legitimate President of Niger.
“The European Union reiterates its very clear calls for the full and complete restoration, without delay, of constitutional order and fully associates itself with the declarations of ECOWAS and its African and international partners in this regard.
“And we stand ready to support future ECOWAS decisions, including the adoption of sanctions.
“In this regard, in addition to the immediate cessation of budget support, all cooperation actions in the security field are suspended sine die with immediate effect,” he said.
