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Belgium is, among other things, pushing for the suspension of the memorandum on raw materials that the European Commission concluded with Rwanda last year, but there appeared to be no consensus on this at a meeting of foreign ministers earlier this week. According to Kaja Kallas, the high representative of European foreign policy, the memorandum will be “reviewed.”
In addition, the European Union has suspended security consultations with Rwanda and is calling on Rwanda to withdraw its troops from eastern Congo. The member states also reached a “political agreement” to impose sanctions on Rwanda, depending on how the situation on the ground evolves. The form these sanctions should take will still be formally decided.
Belgian Minister Maxime Prévot warned after the meeting against a policy of “double standards” regarding Ukraine on the one hand and Congo on the other. He did speak of a step in the right direction but would have preferred a stronger signal towards Rwanda. Nevertheless, Prévot is pleased today with “the glass half full,” as there is a political agreement that will allow sanctions “when the time is right.”