Benin has recently been added to the European Union (EU) Peace Facility benefit list. The EU has allocated €5 million (approximately $5.4 million) to enhance various aspects of Benin’s armed forces, with a focus on operational efficiency.
This funding, categorized as an “assistance measure” by the European Peace Facility (EPF), will serve multiple purposes, including pre-deployment training needs. It represents the third tranche of EU funding to Benin this year, following previous disbursements of €25 million in May and €5 million in June.
The primary objectives of this assistance are twofold: safeguarding Benin’s territorial integrity and sovereignty, and bolstering maritime security in the Gulf of Guinea. The Benin navy will benefit from these measures.
Overall, the EU’s support to Benin now totals €35 million, constituting 27% of the country’s defense budget. Specific enhancements include the acquisition of a multi-purpose military aircraft, strengthening medical capacities, and improving ground-based evacuation capabilities.
Furthermore, the EU will facilitate the establishment of a national military academy to train pilots and aircraft mechanics. This initiative will also provide intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) radar systems, command and control capacities, and training resources such as ammunition and small arms for operational purposes.
The EPF’s support aligns with a broader package that combines development assistance to prevent and combat violent extremism—an escalating threat to stability in northern Benin. Additionally, the EU recently launched a security and defense initiative for the Gulf of Guinea, contributing to regional peace and stability.
In April, Charles Michel, President of the European Council, announced plans to mobilize €47 million for Benin in 2024. These funds will support the acquisition of drones and intelligence-gathering aircraft, as well as initiatives aimed at countering terrorism.
Northern regions of Benin and Togo have faced attacks and incursions from the Islamic State (IS) group and Al-Qaeda, which operate in the Sahel and seek to expand southward. In response, Benin has deployed 3,000 troops to secure its northern border and is recruiting an additional 5,000 troops.
The EU’s commitment extends beyond Benin. In December 2023, the EU launched a security and defense initiative to address insecurity spillover from the Sahel into West African countries. This two-year initiative focuses on prevention, socio-economic development, and humanitarian assistance. It aims to strengthen security and defense forces in Benin, Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, and Togo, while promoting the rule of law and trust-building between civil society and security institutions.
Developed in coordination with the aforementioned countries, this tailor-made support addresses identified needs and contributes to regional stability.
Following an innovative, flexible and modular set up, the initiative will combine military and civilian security and defence expertise (providing short-term training teams or visiting experts) as an addition to European Peace Facility (EPF) assistance measures, such as the recently adopted ones to support the Beninese Armed Forces (€11.75 million) and the Ghana Armed Forces (€8.25 million).
In October 2023, the EU handed over 105 military vehicles to Ghana, after they were seized from a Libya-bound ship. The vehicles include dozens of Toyota Land Cruisers, GMC Sierras and Chevy Silverados. During the handover, the EU said he delivery of the 105 vehicles was part of €20 million support to the Ghanaian Armed Forces. Further equipment will also be delivered in the future: aerial surveillance, electronic warfare systems and river craft.
The EU has “engaged a figure of €620 million for military support for the whole region,” EU chief diplomat Josep Borrell said at the time as the EU seeks to increase support for friendly states in west Africa amid fears that the decade-long insurgency crisis in the Sahel will expand, especially in light of recent coups and instability.
In May this year, the EU provided €15 million to Cove d’Ivoire to assist in strengthening the operational capabilities of the Ivoirian armed forces to secure areas close to the landlocked country’s borders with Cameroon, Chad, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Republic of Congo, South Sudan and Sudan. Funds will also go to counter non-state armed groups which are destabilising the country and the West Africa region, an EU statement said in part.
This assistance will see the European bloc provide non-lethal equipment to upgrade intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities of the Air Force of Côte d’Ivoire. Included are communication and data transmission equipment and unmanned aerial systems (UASs). Logistics and security of military units deployed in the country’s north will be boosted by multi-purpose vehicles and personal protective equipment (PPE). Tactical and what the EU terms “on-the-job” training is integral to the assistance package.