EU envoy admits Brussels misread Sahel dynamics, warning that military-first strategies and one-way diplomacy have eroded influence as Russia and China deepen their foothold in the region.
The European Union has been failing in its dialogue with Sahel states, but is now “building bridges” with junta-led regimes in a bid to regain credibility lost to Russia, the EU’s Special Representative for the Sahel, João Cravinho, has told Europe Today.
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“We have not been – and it's a mea culpa here – capable of listening and understanding properly. We have not been capable of explaining what our interests are in the region,” Cravinho admitted, but added that dialogue has improved since the start of his mandate in November 2024.
“I think there’s quite a lot of recognition. Our relations with those regimes now have bridges which did not exist some time ago,” he added.
His comments come days after militants from separatist and jihadist groups launched co-ordinated attacks in Mali, taking control of swathes of the north and killing the country’s defence minister. The French Foreign Ministry has called on nationals to leave Mali.
The country’s military leader, Assimi Goïta, has insisted that the threat from rebel militants will be “neutralised,” while Russia has claimed its paramilitary forces – which support the Malian military – have averted a coup.
Cravinho described the situation as “terrible” for the Malian population, and warned that the violent episode “could happen again".
He said that the attacks show that “there is no military solution to the situation in the Sahel as a whole, including Burkina Faso and Niger”.
“The Malians are going to have to do some reassessments. It's theirs to do, and I can't tell them what to do, but I think that it's obvious, due to the tremendous security failures of the past week,” Cravinho said.
“It's very clear that there is no solution through military means alone. The Russians only offer military support. They offer nothing else.”
Europe has ‘no monopoly’
European credibility in the region has been in steep decline in recent years, as Russia – and, to a lesser extent, China and Iran – have gained footholds.
European nations have significantly scaled down military missions in the Sahel amid growing anti-West sentiment, with France completing its withdrawal of troops from Mali in 2022 after a decade of military intervention.
"We have no monopoly in the region," Cravinho said, but warned that “no other part of the world has the same level of direct interest” in the region as Europe does.
The EU launched a fresh strategy for the Sahel in December 2025, which recalibrated its approach to focus more on human security and socioeconomic prosperity over military security.
The fight against terrorism and efforts to curb migration towards North Africa and the Mediterranean are key tenets of the new approach.
Yet, with war on Europe's doorstep and increasing volatility in the Middle East, Cravinho acknowledged the limited political bandwidth in Europe to address the Sahel.
"Ministers tell me the Sahel is geopolitically strategic, and yet they don't have time," Cravinho said, but added that Europe is preparing for greater intervention.
"I think the opportunities will arise when it becomes evident that Europe is still the best possible partner for those countries."