The Council has established a €15 million assistance measure to support the Senegalese National Navy with operational, educational, and mobility equipment, all non-lethal. The measure operates within the Yaoundé Architecture for West African maritime security and will be implemented by a Spanish public-sector foundation
Council Decision (CFSP) 2026/1028, adopted on 5 May 2026, establishes an assistance measure under the European Peace Facility benefiting Senegal. The financial reference amount is €15 million over 36 months. The measure was triggered by a formal request from Senegal to the High Representative on 13 March 2026. Implementation is assigned to Fundación para la Internacionalización de las Administraciones Públicas, a Spanish public administration internationalisation foundation, rather than a Member State military structure, reflecting the civilian character of the assistance.
The equipment categories are defined as non-lethal. They cover operational equipment including intervention assets, surveillance systems, communications and protective individual equipment for the National Navy; educational equipment for the National Naval Academy in Dakar; and mobility equipment. Technical training is included where needed. The decision explicitly excludes equipment designed to deliver lethal force.
The geopolitical rationale is maritime security in the Atlantic and Gulf of Guinea. Senegal’s Exclusive Economic Zone and its position as the westernmost gateway to Africa make it a critical node on shipping routes connecting the Mediterranean and Suez to West Africa and the Americas. The Yaoundé Architecture, the regional framework for maritime security established by the 2013 Yaoundé Code of Conduct, coordinates surveillance and response across 26 African states. The EPF measure aligns EU support with that regional framework rather than providing bilateral assistance outside it.
Standard EPF safeguards apply. The High Representative must conclude arrangements with Senegal requiring compliance with international humanitarian law by units supported under the measure, proper use and maintenance of assets, and a prohibition on transfer to unauthorised parties. Post-shipment control includes delivery verification certificates, annual beneficiary reporting, and on-site access for EPF auditors. The Political and Security Committee may suspend or recommend termination if obligations are breached. This is the EU’s first EPF measure in the Yaoundé Architecture context for Senegal specifically, though the framework has been used for other West African states including Mozambique, Niger (suspended), and Ghana.
