Opinion: EU Destined for Embarrassment in DR Congo

First Kosovo, Djibouti and Afghanistan, and now the Democratic Republic of Congo. Four hundred forty parliamentarians decided Thursday that German soldiers will have to gather up their field-packs in just a few weeks. Nevertheless, the 780 soldiers will go forth with a queasy feeling in their stomachs -- despite the majority approval, no truly convincing arguments for the mission in Central Africa were to be heard in the Bundestag.

The DR Congo mission is not about defending Germany's security interests, even though government leaders in Berlin have been openly demanding a fair cutback of raw materials in the country. No, the official task is to support the upcoming parliamentary and presidential elections, which optimists believe may contribute to stabilization of the region.

Poor preparation on both continents

But how serious can Europe really be about this mission, when Central Africa's big hope rests on the shoulders of just 2,000 European soldiers, many of whom will never actually be stationed in the country? And what are they supposed to secure in this country saddled with unrest? A poorly prepared election in which former warlords will surrender to the ballot?

If the observers are right, then interim President Joseph Kabila will profit more than anyone else from the presence of European soldiers in DR Congo. As far as security goes, he prefers to rely on his private army. Kabila is friendly with the French, who are involved in power politics in the region and therefore play a decisive role in the conflict. Paris is only concerned with stability and the status quo in Africa, regardless of whether dictators or democrats come out on top. Since no one wants to hear about that in Berlin, France was able to lure the Germans into DR Congo by assuring them that the mission would strengthen the European Union's position as a global security power.

No place for symbolism

That all sounds very nice, but DR Congo is a poor choice for improving the EU's reputation. As soon as the situation escalates, the European mini-force will have to make a run for it -- and leave a lot of disappointed people behind. Those in charge are hoping that the soldiers will somehow manage to survive the four-month mission and make it back in one piece. Talk of symbolism was dropped long ago. But the DR Congo mission is unsuitable for symbolism anyway. The EU partners know that and have offered inadequate support to Germany as the mission's leading nation.

The German government had a bad experience with symbolic politics once before. Six years ago, it sent the Bundeswehr to East Timor to support UN soldiers there. But the troops were quickly called home again when it became apparent that the effort invested in the mission was entirely ineffective. If everything goes well, this experience will repeat itself in DR Congo. If things go awry, Europe will have embarrassed itself as a global player.