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Thank you President, Honourable Members of the European Parliament,

The recent coup [d’état] in Burkina Faso, on the 24^th of January, concerns us all. Not only because it is the third coup [d’état] in West Africa in less than two years, but also because since the fall of the former President [Blaise] Compaoré in 2014, Burkina Faso was seen as an example of a successful democratic transition.

On 26^th of January, the High Representative/Vice-President [Josep Borrell] strongly condemned this coup, calling in particular for the immediate release of President [Roch Marc Christian] Kaboré, as well as for a rapid return to constitutional order.

Since that date, we note that President Kaboré is still under house arrest and the authorities are yet to announce a transition timetable.

In this context, it seems important to maintain a firm position. We need to encourage the authorities under Lieutenant-Colonel [Paul-Henri Sandaogo] Damiba, who has just sworn in as the new President of Burkina Faso, to send positive signs to the international community, in particular by presenting a reasonable timetable for the transition and releasing of President Kaboré.

On this point, we will closely follow the reaction of ECOWAS. Indeed, ECOWAS’ Heads of State have suspended Burkina Faso from the regional organisation, called for the return to constitutional order in the shortest time and put in place a monitoring mechanism.

All of this takes place in a difficult security situation. As you know, armed terrorist groups affiliated with Al-Qaeda or the Islamic State operate almost freely on more than a third of Burkinabe territory. They have caused more than 1.5 million internally displaced persons, who face a very difficult situation of shelter and food insecurity.

The European Union will respond to the changing situation. We should aim to have a pragmatic approach, with the objective of encouraging the rapid return to constitutional order. Our priorities include the terrorist threat in the region as well as the protection and improvement of living conditions of the population. I recall that we are entering in a new cooperation cycle. All discussions on future programmes are on hold, including on budget support. How we will deal with ongoing programmes, in particular those which are of direct benefit to the state, will be evaluated together with Member States once we know the direction the new authorities are taking.

With all these elements, once the authorities in Burkina Faso have better outlined their approach, we will be able to define our response more clearly.

I thank you.

Link to the video (starting at 42:20): https://audiovisual.ec.europa.eu/en/video/I-218155