11 The EU and the Sahel: EUCAP Sahel
Niger
| Committee's assessment
| Politically important |
| Committee's decision | Cleared from scrutiny
|
| Document details | Council Decision on the European Union CSDP mission in Niger (EUCAP Sahel Niger)
|
| Legal base | Articles 28, 42(4) and 43(2) TEU; unanimity
|
| Department | Foreign and Commonwealth Office
|
Summary and Committee's conclusions
11.1 Council Decision 2012/392/CFSP established EUCAP Sahel Niger,
to build the capacity of Nigerien security forces to fight terrorism
and organised crime. EUCAP Sahel Niger was launched in July 2012,
and is mandated for two years until July 2014. It has five main
tasks:
· advise
and assist in the implementation of the security dimension of
the Nigerien Strategy for Security and Development at national
level;
· support
the development of regional and international coordination in
the fight against terrorism and organised crime;
· develop
and implement adequate criminal investigation training programmes
utilising a "train the trainer" approach;
· support
the development of Nigerien Security Forces resilience by developing
a Human Resources strategy and providing training in management
issues; and
· contribute
to the identification, planning and implementation of projects
in the security field.
11.2 The first year's budget was €8.7 million;
the second year, €9.2 million. The mission got off to a slow
start, largely due to a rushed planning process, lack of local
buy-in and inadequate leadership. It began to pick up speed in
its second year; so much so that, in March 2014, the Minister
for Europe (Mr David Lidington) was able to report that the Mission
was now delivering against its mandate, and that an EEAS Strategic
Review had recommended extending the mandate for a further two
years from 17 July, with the Mission being roughly the same size,
retaining its current structure and costing a similar amount to
now, with some small changes to the current tasks. Niger remained
a fragile democracy in an increasingly volatile region; Nigerien
elections were due in 2015-16, and a visible EU presence at least
until then would increase the chances of a smooth poll.
11.3 This draft Council Decision extends the mandate
for two years to July 2016, with a budget covering the period
July 2014 to July 2015. The Minister says since its launch in
2012, EUCAP Sahel Niger has trained over 2,500 members of the
security forces, armed forces, civil service and judiciary. He
describes the mission's work on improving the services' human
resource and forensic capabilities as having been particularly
successful; likewise its work to co-ordinate EUCAP's activity
with that of other international actors in Niger (the latter led
by the UK secondee in the Mission).
11.4 EUCAP will continue to assist the Nigerien authorities
to define and implement their National Security Strategy and contribute
to improving the capacities of Nigerien security actors in the
fight against terrorism and organised crime. The Mission gains
11 new staff[24] and
will expand its activity in some areas, including additional visits
to the northern town of Agadez. Despite this, and (so says the
Minister) as a result of UK lobbying, the Mission's budget for
July 2014-July 2015 shows a very small decrease compared to this
year's budget, principally due to savings on capital expenditure.
11.5 In our first Report on this mission, we noted
that it demonstrated, not for the first time, the leading, sometimes
solitary and commendable role the Minister and his officials have
had in driving down the cost of CSDP missions; and are pleased
to be able to commend them once again.
11.6 The next milestone would appear to be the
2015-16 elections with regard to which the Mission is seen as
a stabilising presence. We should be grateful if the Minister
would write to us then, with an update on the Mission's achievements
in the interim and his assessment of the Mission's likely future
role in the light of the election outcomes.
11.7 In the meantime, we clear this Council Decision.
Full details of
the documents: Council
Decision amending Decision 2012/392/CFSP on the European Union
CSDP mission in Niger (EUCAP Sahel Niger): (36171), —.
Background
11.8 Council Decision 2012/392/CFSP established EUCAP
Sahel Niger, to build the capacity of Nigerien security forces
to fight terrorism and organised crime. EUCAP Sahel Niger was
launched in July 2012, and is mandated for two years until July
2014. It has five main tasks:
· advise
and assist in the implementation of the security dimension of
the Nigerien Strategy for Security and Development at national
level;
· support
the development of regional and international coordination in
the fight against terrorism and organised crime;
· develop
and implement adequate criminal investigation training programmes
utilising a "train the trainer" approach;
· support
the development of Nigerien Security Forces resilience by developing
a Human Resources strategy and providing training in management
issues; and
· contribute
to the identification, planning and implementation of projects
in the security field.[25]
11.9 The budget for the first year of the mission
was set at €8.7 million. That was extended in July 2013
until the end of October 2013, because EUCAP Sahel Niger had under-performed.
The Committee's observations are set out in the first "Our
assessment" section of our 23 October 2013 Report.[26]
In July, the Minister for Europe (Mr David Lidington) had said
that, once the Status of Mission Agreement (SOMA)[27]
was in place, local buy-in could be expected to improve, together
with the ability of the Mission to carry out its tasks: his Explanatory
Memorandum of 17 October 2013 showed that this had now begun to
happen (see paragraph 16.17 of our Report under reference). The
proposed budget represents a pro rata increase of 5% on
the previous budget of €8.7 million (the Minister's detailed
analysis is at the Annex to our Report under reference). The Minister's
accompanying letter was also interesting not only with regard
to this mission, but also more widely (see paragraph 16.21-16.25
of our Report under reference).
11.10 Despite the welcome indications of progress,
it had nonetheless taken a year to reach the point where the mission
was now on track to deliver against clear goals. Moreover, as
the Minister noted, the mission was still seriously under-staffed.
Also, his comments about funding for equipment not being sufficiently
tapped, that both the mission and the EEAS could be working more
closely with other actors, and that there was soon to be a change,
suggest that the mission had suffered from inadequate leadership.
We recalled that it would have been obvious from the Committee's
earlier Reports that it agreed with the Minister that the key
lesson to be learned from the Niger process was that rushed planning
led to poor mission performance; it was accordingly gratifying
that he had instructed officials to ensure that the launch of
any further civilian mission was delayed until proper planning
was complete.
11.11 Against this background, the Committee accordingly
said that it looked to the Minister to keep the Committee informed
in writing as these processes took shape, and to ensure that any
proposals for a new mission and/or for mandate extensions was
submitted for scrutiny in time for any questions arising to be
pursued with him and, if necessary, debated, before any Council
Decisions were adopted.[28]
The Minister's letter of 28 March 2014
11.12 Prompted by the EEAS Strategic Review, the
Minister reported that the Mission was now delivering against
its mandate. The President's support had been instrumental in
directing how different ministries and services should work with
EUCAP to implement reforms. Training activities were currently
working well. EUCAP had been praised by third countries, including
the US, for its work in co-ordinating wider international action
in Niger. And the mission was seeking to build sustainability
into its activity by creating a training cycle within the services,
including a pool of mission-trained Nigerien personnel guaranteed
to stay in post as trainers for a period of years. However, there
was more to do: Niger remained a fragile democracy in an increasingly
volatile region; it is prone to the criminal smuggling of weapons,
drugs and weapons; problems in Mali had spilled over into Niger;
in Nigeria to the south, Boko Haram's campaign of violence continued;
while to the north, Libya remained volatile and its border with
Niger porous. Nigerien elections were due in 2015-16, and a visible
EU presence at least until then would increase the chances of
a smooth poll.
11.13 The Minister also provided a meaningful insight
into the limité EEAS Strategic Review: it recommended
extending the mandate for a further two years from 17 July, with
the Mission being roughly the same size, retaining its current
structure and costing a similar amount to now, with some small
changes to the current tasks (for full details, see our Report
of 9 April 2014).[29]
The draft Council Decision
11.14 This draft Council Decision extends the mandate
for two years to July 2016, with a budget covering the period
July 2014 to July 2015.
The Government's view
11.15 In his Explanatory Memorandum of 4 July 2014,
the Minister says since its launch in 2012, EUCAP Sahel Niger
has trained over 2,500 members of the security forces, armed forces,
civil service and judiciary. He describes the mission's work on
improving the services' human resource and forensic capabilities
as having been particularly successful; likewise its work to co-ordinate
EUCAP's activity with that of other international actors in Niger
(the latter led by the UK secondee in the Mission).
11.16 The Minister confirms that the March 2014 Strategic
Review proposed a number of changes to the Mission's future role,
whilst retaining the same basic size, structure and overall purpose,
which he outlines thus:
· increase
its work on inter-operability and training programmes at the operational
level, and do less at the top level where effect has been harder
to measure;
· curtail
the Liaison Officer slots in Mali and Mauritania, particularly
in view of the creation of the civilian CSDP Mission in Mali;
and
· increase
its work in support of border management, including through an
increased presence in northern Niger.
11.17 He continues as follows:
"Accordingly, the Mission's new mandate
includes a number of amendments. The Liaison Officers in Mali
and Mauritania have been trimmed, other job slots amalgamated
and the associated savings used to expand staffing in other areas.
Full details on staffing appear in paragraph 19 below.[30]
There are also a number of technical changes and updates to reflect
the situation in Niger two years on from the launch of EUCAP.
"The principal change to the Mission's remit
is to extend its activity in the northern town of Agadez, which
is seen as a hub for both legal and illegal trade in Niger and
the wider Sahel. Some Member States were anxious that the EU should
do more to secure Niger's borders and combat people-smuggling
and -trafficking and other organised crime affecting the EU, particularly
given that many of those transported ultimately found themselves
in boats in the Mediterranean. After a tough negotiation Member
States agreed that rather than establish a new office in Agadez
(which would have been expensive, prone to security risks and
of questionable overall value), the Mission should undertake more
frequent visits to Agadez in order to bolster the successful collaboration
with the PC Mixte (joint operations centres bringing together
the main security actors) there".
11.18 The Minister professes himself content with
this outcome, and says that his officials have worked hard to
contain the costs associated with the additional travel and staff
required (see the annex to this chapter of our Report for the
Minister's detailed analysis).
Previous
Committee Reports: None;
but see (35390) —: Nineteenth Report HC-xviii (2013-14),
chapter 16 (30 October 2013) and Forty-sixth Report HC 83-xli
(2013-14, chapter 13 (9 April 2014).
Annex: The Minister's detailed
analysis of the 2014-15 Budget
"The UK managed to secure savings to the proposed
Commission budget and a pro rata overall decrease in the budget
compared to last year despite the additions of 11 new staff; 4
new accommodation units to house the extra staff; the new work
in Agadez; an increase in medical facilities; upgraded security;
and functioning IT. A pro rata comparison of the new budget to
the previous budget is set out below (in euros).
| Budget heading
| Current budget
(8,5 months)
| Current budget
(pro rata per12 months)
| Budget
(July 2014-July 2015)
(12 months)
|
| 1. Personnel costs
| 3,245,136 | 4,581,368
| 5,172,170 |
| 2. Missions |
217,275 | 306,742
| 322,120 |
| 3. Running expenditure
| 1,243,541 | 1,755,588
| 1,858,323 |
| 4. Capital expenditure
| 747,650 | 1,055,505
| 638,853 |
| 5. Representation
| 3,400 | 4,800
| 9,600 |
| 6. Projects |
850,156 | 1,200,220
| 974,440 |
| Sub-total (1-6) |
6,307,158 | 8,904,223
| 8,975,506 |
| Contingencies |
192,842 | 272,247
| 179,494 |
| Total
| 6,500,000
| 9,176,470
| 9,155,000
|
"Personnel Costs: €5,172,170
"Personnel costs have increased
by €590,802. The mission is no longer employing Liaison Officers
in Mali and Mauritania. However, the number of seconded experts
will increase by 7, to include experts in border management, training
policy, policing, evaluation and security, and a post to coordinate
activities in the north.
"In addition,
a contracted Security Analyst has been added and the number of
local staff will be increased by 6. This increase in staffing
numbers is partly due to the reinforcement of activity in northern
Niger and I believe this increase in numbers is reasonable, given
the expansion in activity and the impact this activity is expected
to have.
"Mission Costs: €322,120
"Mission
costs have increased by €15,378. This budget line pays for
the costs of travel to Brussels, within the region and within
Niger, particularly the costs of experts travelling to Agadez
for training activities.
"Running Costs: €1,858,323
"This
budget line has increased by €102,735. This covers vehicle
running costs, including vehicle rental in Agadez. This also covers
IT and communication costs, which includes internet and web services
for EUCAP's headquarters and staff accommodation, rental costs
of office and accommodation, administrative costs, staff training,
as well as security, medical and welfare services.
"Capital Expenditure: €638,853
"Capital
costs have decreased by €416,652. Now that the mission is
set up, there is less need for costly capital expenditure. However,
the mission has budgeted for a certain amount of IT equipment,
security equipment and medical kits.
"Representation Costs: €9,600
"Representation
costs have doubled. The amount previously budgeted to represent
the mission had not been sufficient and has been raised to €800
a month.
"Project Costs: €974,440
"Project
costs have decreased by €225,780. This budget line covers
16 projects which complement the mission's training activities.
Examples of projects include refurbishing and equipping the Gendarmerie's
Operational Centre in Agadez, renovating and equipping the PC
Mixtes in Dosso, Maradi and Zinder, preparation of training
materials and support to the Ministry of Justice to strengthen
the penal chain.
"Contingencies: €179,494
"Contingency costs have reduced by €92,753,
but will only be used with
prior written approval of
the Commission."
24 The overall authorized strength is 80 personnel
(52 international staff and 28 local staff). Back
25
For full details of the Mission, see http://eeas.europa.eu/csdp/missions-and-operations/eucap-sahel-niger/pdf/factsheet_eucap_sahel_niger_en.pdf Back
26
See (35390) -: Nineteenth Report HC-xviii (2013-14), chapter 16
(30 October 2013). Back
27
Status of forces agreements (SOFAs) and status of mission agreements
(SOMAs) are bilateral or multilateral treaties that define the
legal position of military forces and civilian personnel deployed
by one or more states or by an international organization in the
territory of another state with the latter's consent. Back
28
See (35390) -: Nineteenth Report HC-xviii (2013-14), chapter 16
(30 October 2013). Back
29
See (35390) -:
Forty-sixth Report HC 83-xli (2013-14, chapter 13 (9 April 2014). Back
30
The para number in the Minister's EM; in our case, see the "Personnel
Costs" section of the annex to this chapter of our Report. Back
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