EU Ambassador Advises ECOWAS to Learn From Brexit in Addressing Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger Exit
The Head of European Delegation to Nigeria and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Ambassador Gautier Mignot, has asked the West African regional bloc to learn from Brexit by evolving a new way of managing its relationship with the departing member countries, the Alliance of Sahel States (Alliance des Etats du Sahel) AES-Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger.
While revealing that the EU did not support ECOWAS splitting, Mignot insisted that regionalism is the path to prosperity and stability. The envoy suggested this in Abuja on Monday during a media parley.
The envoy, who described the three countries’ decision as regrettable, said: “It is a decision that we regret because we support very much West African integration. We ourselves are probably the most autonomous model of regional integration in the world, and we think that this is a path to prosperity, unity, and stability in all regions of the world, especially in West Africa. So splitting doesn’t seem to us a good idea.”
Mignot, noting that it was not up to the EU to tell ECOWAS how to handle the situation, said the EU would readily avail itself by sharing its experience of how it went about the United Kingdom’s exit.
He said, “And of course, as in other issues, if we can get any help, we would be happy to share our experience and expertise with ECOWAS. Indeed, we had the experience of a former member state that decided to exit the European Union. And how did we manage to have a 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. Now, we have a constant dialogue about adjusting this new agreement and trying to make our new relationship more efficient.
“So, even if you leave regional integration mobilization, geographically, you remain neighbors, and you have to find new ways of coexisting and cooperating.
“So we hope that ECOWAS and the European Union will also be able to do that.”
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. We have also adapted our development cooperation, focusing on supporting 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 is reaching unprecedented levels. And there is ongoing work in Brussels towards a renewed approach in the Sahel, for which dialogue and exchanges with regional partners.”
The envoy, who only submitted his letter of credence to President Bola Tinubu last week, said he started dreaming of working in Nigeria during his first visit to the country ten years ago.
The envoy, who was a former EU ambassador to Mexico, said: “I came to Nigeria 10 years ago on a one-week mission to Abuja and Lagos, and I found it to be a fascinating country. I always thought how great it would be to come and work here in this country one day, and this dream finally has come true.
“ So I’m very happy with that. I arrived in Nigeria at the beginning of September, taking over from Ambassador Samuel Aissopi.I know you knew her very well. She was a very active ambassador. And again, I’m extremely happy to be here in Nigeria, the number one nation in Africa and a key player in the world.
“I already had the opportunity to discover some parts of the country, apart from the Federal capital, Lagos, of course, but also the city, Calabar, and more recently, Borno and the Adamawa state. And also, I discovered a bit of the Nigerian tribal culture since the Calabar carnival last year.”
On his plan in Nigeria, he said he is here to improve the EU-Nigeria partnership and positively impact the people. He stressed that the EU remains a constant, faithful, trusted partner that Nigeria can count on.
He said, “My mission is to elevate the EU-Nigeria partnership to a higher level, with one goal: positively impact the Nigerian population. As I told the President, in uncertain times and in a fast-evolving world, you need a constant and faithful partner on whom you know you can count: the EU is one for Nigeria.
“In turn, we see Nigeria as a key partner and a major player in Africa and the world. New leaders are very much interested in Nigeria.
He also spoke about new initiatives that the EU wants to exploit in Nigeria, including a better-structured economic relationship and dialogue to address and remove the issues that hamper more investment and trade. He noted that there is currently no agreement or dialogue framework between the EU and Nigeria.
However, he said the EU, through the Global Gateway investment agenda, will focus more on creating jobs and opportunities, especially for young people in Nigeria, building on Nigeria’s great sense of entrepreneurship in sectors like green economy, digital, agri-food, and health: this is actually already an ongoing work.”
He also added that special attention would be paid to the North of the country where there are specific needs.
