Burkina Faso: Two EU delegates declared persona non-grata
8922455 10.05.2025 Президент Буркина-Фасо Ибрагим Траоре во время встречи с президентом РФ Владимиром Путиным. Станислав Красильников / РИА Новости При использовании обязательно указание имени автора и источника: «Имя автора/фотохост-агентство РИА Новости».
After severing diplomatic ties with France last June, Burkina Faso has shown further hostility to European institutions, declaring 2 delegates of the European Union in Ouagadougou persona non grata on the 15th of July. According to RFI, the Burkinabese authorities gave 72 hours for the EU representatives to leave the territory.
Their names and nationalities have not been disclosed, nor have the official reasons for their expulsion. The deputy head of the European Union (EU) delegation, as well as a programme officer, only is known their positions, as the deputy head of the European Union (EU) delegation, as well as a programme officer
“We regret the decision taken by the authorities of Burkina Faso, for which we see no basis,” reacted a European Union spokesperson on the 15th of July, adding that the EU is “currently assessing the situation carefully before deciding on the appropriate response.”
The European Parliament adopted a resolution in June, considered hostile by Ouagadougou. Proposed by a French eurodeputee, the text denounced the “repression of civic space and fundamental freedoms in Burkina Faso”, whilst calling for an investigation into the allegations of human rights violations by the Burkinabese military junta.
A few days after the publication and adoption of the text, the Minister of Foreign Affairs had summoned the European Union delegation to protest, calling the text neocolonial and putting forward the principle of non-interference, particularly for a historically colonial nation.
Ouagadougou further decided in the last couple of weeks to officially withdraw from the International Criminal Court, with its allies of the Sahel State Alliance, Mali and Niger. The Sahel states have been increasingly distancing themselves from Western countries. The three countries recently met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, discussing further security agreements. The military juntas face violent terrorist groups such as the Al-Qaeda affiliated JNIM, as well as the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA). The use of para-military groups such as Wagner and, more recently, the Kremlin-affiliated AfricaCorps.
RFI, Maghrebi.org
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