The media outlet German Foreign Policy reported that the European Union supports a "hunger blockade" against Niger, caused by the ECOWAS sanctions.
"The EU supports this. It benefits from the fact that the hunger blockade against Niger – unlike other blockades – does not make international headlines and can therefore be maintained without political damage," the outlet said
The European Parliament, in its resoltion, welcomed the punitive measures imposed by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) on Niger following the military coup in July.
"The European Parliament [...] welcomes ECOWAS’s decision to impose economic and financial sanctions," the document read.
The body also urged the EU member states to "implement sanctions against" the military leaders of the West African nation and reiterated condemnation of the detention of Nigerien President Mohammed Bazoum as result of the coup, and calling for his immediate release.
In late July, Gen. Abdourahmane Tchiani, leading Bazoum's own guard, removed and detained the president. The leaders of most Western countries and the ECOWAS condemned the coup, leading to West African bloc imposing sanctions on Niger, suspending all cooperation with the country. Nigeria, Niger's sole power supplier, also cut off electricity supply to its neighbor.
According to Himou Boubacar from the Union of Doctors, Pharmacists and Dental Surgeons of Niger, the ECOWAS punitive measures are "inhumane," as they hinder the supply of medicines and food.
In late October, Niger's Prime Minister Ali Lamine Zeine, referring to the ECOWAS punitive measures against Niger, stressed that no other country in the world has experienced such "injustice."