PARSEC is the key project for the European strategy for the stabilisation of Mali. It has been devised by the delegation of the European Union to Mali, with the close cooperation of the Malian Government, as an initial response to the spread of insecurity from the north towards the centre of the country.
The project focuses on the geographical perimeter of the Mopti region, following a joint diagnostic with the national authorities to identify the needs in the Central region of Mali. It is supporting the efforts of the Malian authorities and their international partners for the stabilisation and economic and social development of this fragile area.
More specifically, through support for strengthening and redeploying the Malian security and defence forces, PARSEC aims to contribute to improving the safety of populations, the control of the territory and the management of border areas, respecting the rule of law. The ownership of PARSEC by the Malian authorities, from its design to its implementation, ensures the sustainability of the actions taken.
In view of the volatility of the local situation, it has been decided to implement this project in two separate stages: an identification phase followed by an operational implementation phase. This flexibility in the design ensures that the project can be adapted precisely to developments in the situation and to needs.
A holistic approach based on security, development and rebuilding confidence
The project has two components:
• Improve the safety of populations and the control of the territory, respecting the rule of law,
• Strengthen and develop the management of border areas by State services, including the management of the flows of people and goods, and border cooperation.
It is aligned with the Malian Government’s priorities and complementary to the European Union’s related projects, based on the return of basic socioeconomic services and restoring confidence between the security forces and the population.
The support focuses on the institutional framework and on all the means and capacities that allow the Gendarmerie and Civil Protection Units to carry out their mission among populations (construction and rehabilitation of operational infrastructure, individual and collective materials and equipment, means of communication, maintenance, etc.).
The formulation, implementation methods and time schedule of PARSEC are defined through a joint approach involving the Malian authorities, working closely with all the technical and financial partners to promote the coordination and complementarity of operations for the stabilisation of central Mali.
An innovative approach
The EU strategy for security and development in the Sahel is an integrated approach, which aims to bring together different programmes and instruments of the European foreign policy around common objectives, in order to create an effective link between security and development issues.
The specific way the PARSEC programme was developed implied therefore a close cooperation between the EU Delegation and the two CSDP missions in Mali, EUCAP Sahel Mali (EU Capacity Building Mission) et EUTM Mali. Its implementation will also be in a concerted manner. The aim of the EU is indeed to fit closely together all its instruments in order to create a multiplier effect on its actions.
PARSEC news
March 2017 – PARSEC officially launched
The Support Programme to Strengthen Security (PARSEC) was officially launched on 3 March 2017.
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July 2019 – Handover of equipment to the National Gendarmerie and Civil Protection of the Mopti region
On 12 July 2019, Expertise France officially handed over the ownership papers of six speedboats and two ambulances to the Malian internal security forces (FSI).
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January 2020 – Three major facilities inaugurated in Sévaré
On 28 January 2020, Expertise France delivered an interservice maintenance workshop for repairs for the various security forces in the Mopti region, an equipped barracks for a Gendarmerie unit and a shed for the Cessna 208 Caravan aircraft (delivered to the Malian authorities in April 2019).
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All PARSEC news is available on the European Commission website
