Niger has summoned the European Union’s acting envoy in Niamey after Brussels questioned the legal basis of agreements linked to Algeria’s military deployment in the country.
On November 9, Niger’s Prime Minister Ali Mahaman Lamine Zeine and Foreign Minister Bakary Yaou Sangare summoned Olai Voiomma, the EU delegation’s acting chargé d’affaires, to express Niger’s “strong disapproval” of what it called EU interference in domestic affairs, according to Seneweb.
Niger’s foreign ministry said the summons followed “condescending and unacceptable” comments by an EU spokesperson seeking explanations about the legal basis of economic and security agreements between Niamey and Algiers.
The government said the EU had no right to question agreements freely concluded by two sovereign states that share a border and are pursuing regional peace and stability. It added that Niger, as a non-EU member, “does not need permission from Brussels” to exercise its sovereignty.
The dispute began on October 30, when EU foreign affairs spokesperson Anouar El Anouni said Brussels was closely monitoring Algeria’s deployment of troops to Niger and sought clarification on its scope, purpose and legal basis.
He said security measures should be transparent, proportionate and consistent with international law, state sovereignty and civilian protection.
El Anouni said the EU “fully respects” the sovereignty of both Algeria and Niger, does not intend to interfere, and had not sought clarification about their bilateral commitments. He added that the Algerian deployment was linked exclusively to the bilateral relationship between the two countries.
Algeria’s parliament approved the deployment on October 25, and the first reported Algerian military convoy reached the northern city of Arlit later that month. Algiers says the mission is intended to protect shared energy and economic interests, including infrastructure connected to Sonatrach and the Trans-Saharan Gas Pipeline.
Algeria also rejected EU scrutiny, framing the deployment as a bilateral matter between sovereign neighbors. Its official news agency, APS, said no formal request for clarification had been received from the EU and accused European diplomacy of fabricating the episode. The agency described the troop dispatch as a Nigerien request carried out under a bilateral agreement.
The confrontation underscores Niger’s increasingly assertive stance toward Western institutions since the July 2023 military takeover, which strained ties with France and other traditional partners.
