EU imposes sanctions on Wagner Group

Brussels, 13 December 2021

Today’s Foreign Affairs Council examined two approaches France had previously initiated:

First of all, the Council validated a legal framework enabling sanctions to be adopted against any Malian figures obstructing the transition process as set out by the authorities a few months ago now, which set the elections for next February. This legal framework backs up the decisions of the Economic Community of West African States, which had already decided on sanctions measures and which it recalled at its meeting yesterday. I hope this process will put pressure on the Malian authorities to implement the transition process and will lead to the Malian people finally speaking and saying what they think.

And then the Council also decided to implement direct sanctions against the company Wagner – that company which, as you know, wages war by proxy, wholly irresponsibly because it’s theoretically answerable to no State, or at any rate hides behind that title of private company, wholly irresponsibly and also with total impunity, because it calls itself a mercenary company. We’ve seen that company Wagner at work, in Syria, Libya, the Central African Republic and potentially other places, maybe Mali in the future, and the Foreign Affairs Council decided on sanctions not only against the parent company, Wagner, but also three subsidiaries and eight individuals linked to the company. Those measures are applicable as from now, to signal our hostility and our determination to combat these types of practices./.