EU seeks ‘fair’ burden sharing in Somalia peace mission

And the European Union has been a thread in all these missions, spending nearly €3 billion ($3.1 billion) in Somalia’s peace and restoration efforts since 2004.

But, as the burden continues, and new ones emerge on the continent, officials in Brussels say the international community should plug the deficit, a fair share of responsibilities to common problems.

Anouar el Anouni, Spokesman for EU Foreign Affairs and Security Policy chief Kaja Kallas, told a media briefing last week that the EU expects the international community to follow through on a recent UN resolution that could allow Aussom to tap UN funding.

“We welcome the adoption of the mandate (of Aussom) by the UN Security Council, including the request that the mission should be financed via the UN Security Council Resolution 2719. But we as EU we stand ready to consider providing support to the Aussom on the basis of fair, fairer burden sharing between international partners, and we encourage all parties to come to an agreement on troop partner nations for Aussom as soon as possible,” Mr el Anouni told a group of visiting African journalists to the EU headquarters in Brussels.

Read: Same old script as new AU Somalia mission takes position

Aussom, still in its nascent stages, has failed problems from funding to troop contributions. Burundi, which was one of the Atmis contributors, withdrew from the new mission, leaving Uganda to cover the areas the Burundian troops occupied.

Kenya, Ethiopia and Djibouti were the other contributors, while Egypt has sought to send in police personnel under Aussom and military troops under a bilateral arrangement.

While all previous Atmis contributors had expressed readiness to remain, the issue of money, as well as geopolitics, has played a role. For example, in December 2023, the UN Security Council unanimously agreed to consider, on a case-by-case basis, requests from the African Union Peace and Security Council seeking for authorisation to access UN assessed contributions for African-led peace support operations. 

When Aussom was authorised last December, however, some UN Security Council members such as the US were adamant that the mission should run for some time before going for the obvious fruit of UN funds. Washington argues that adequate measures need to be in place to ensure the funding does not amount to nothing.

Within Aussom itself, the relationship between Ethiopia and Egypt, as well as the role Ethiopia will play going forward remains unresolved. In January, Ethiopia and Somalia signalled intent to thaw relations, which had soured for over a year following the controversial MoU between Addis Ababa and the Somali breakaway region of Somaliland. Their working relationship could be key.

Yet funding remains the backbone of the mission. The EU had earlier cut funding by 20 percent, even though it continued to channel to the previous missions moneys that helped settle some operational costs.

In 2024, the EU disbursed some €70 million ($72 million) to Atmis, and €40 million ($41 million) for the Somali National Army (SNA). Between July 2021 and December 2023, the EU, under the European Peace Facility, sent some €270 million ($278 million) to Atmis and €50 million ($51 million) for SNA’s rebuilding project.

Read: Rochttps://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/tea/news/east-africa/rocky-start-to-new-au-somalia-mission-4878216ky start to new AU Somalia mission as Burundi reads ‘disrespect’ in troop count

Typically, the EU support for the military component of Atmis and for the SNA came under what is known as the Assistance Measure in support of African-led Peace Support Operations, worth €600 million ($618 million).

Now the European bloc says its funding for such programmes will be done under the Integrated Approach to external conflicts and crises, for “a broader, coordinated and coherent engagement of the EU to support security and peace in Somalia, and in the Horn of Africa at large.”

“It is notably paired with capacity-building support to the SNA, with the aim of allowing a handover of security responsibilities. The EU support to Somalia in this regard is in line with relevant UN Security Council Resolutions and with the Somali Transition Plan,” says a report by the EPF.

The bloc says it will follow through a promise to disburse some €1.5 billion ($1.55 billion) until 2027, part of funding “to support Africa’s peace efforts, intense security and defence, missions and operations across the continent,” el Anouni added. That money has actually been sent in in bits since 2021.

For now, the EU says Africa should be central to solving their conflicts, even if the international community sends in the cash.