Mali: Europeans form a common front with ECOWAS

European flags in front of the headquarters of the European Commission in Brussels (illustrative image).

AFP - JOHN THYS

Text by: RFI Follow

1 min

The European Union wants to show itself determined in the face of the junta resulting from the coup d'état in Mali.

It is preparing to issue sanctions following those issued by ECOWAS on November 7.

EU diplomacy has put a proposal from France on the agenda of the 27. Sanctions are ready, all that remains is to finalize them.

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With our correspondent in Brussels,

Pierre Bénazet

There is no longer to wait until the publication of the sanctions in a few days in the Official Journal of the European Union to know precisely who in Mali will be targeted.

As for the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the idea is to sanction all those responsible for the delay in the organization of the elections.

Travel ban in the Schengen area and asset freeze

The EU refuses to say officially who is on the sanctions list, but the aim of the Europeans is to give all their support to the region.

They should therefore follow in the footsteps of ECOWAS and could target all the authorities of the transition in Mali.

In theory, these would be the classic European Union sanctions, namely the visa ban for the Schengen zone and the freezing of financial assets held in Europe.

The reason why the Europeans do not yet officially give the names of the Malians who will be sanctioned is that they had to add a new criterion to their arsenal.

This is what the 27 foreign ministers did on Monday: according to a European diplomat, they adopted a legal criterion to "

 target those who obstruct the transition, do not respect its commitments, and therefore threaten the peace, security and stability

 ”.

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  • Mali

  • European Union

  • ECOWAS