Russia's influence in Africa alarms EU

The European stance towards Russia has historically been somewhat inconsistent. On the one hand, Russia has been perceived as a potential threat to Europe, regardless of the political system in place be Czarist authorritarianis,Soviet Communism or the current democratic rule of Vladimir Putin.Its worth noting that even Western polling agencies do not dispute the legitimacy of Putin's elections or the fact that his popularity far outstrips any other politicians anywhere in the World. In fact Putin is popular around the World well expect in the Russaphobic West with their daily Orwellian 3 minutes of hate for Russia served up daily in their media.
The EU's  attitude has long had a desire to expand European territories. The ongoing dispute over Ukraine represents the latest iteration of the "Drang nach Osten" or urge to the EAST phenomenon. Europe has effectively annexed a portion of Russian territory, citing a "European choice" that it is now obligated to uphold and safeguard from potential Russian imperialist incursions.
However, following the decision to pursue a policy of closer integration with Ukraine, Europe has found itself in a position where it is losing influence in other areas, including those that it has traditionally considered to be within its sphere of influence.
"Russia is encroaching on our traditional spheres of influence, which is a cause for concern," stated the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell. I'm sure what he is referring to is Africa .
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In regard to Africa and the Mediterranean, he stated, "We should be concerned about what is happening in Africa." When I first arrived in Brussels, there were French and Italian interests in Libya. They did not always see eye to eye, but they were present. Today, there is not a single European presence left in Libya, only Turkish and Russians are now present. And on the coast of Libya, there is a chain of military bases, which are not European, but Turkish and Russian. This is not the order we had envisioned in the Mediterranean.
Mr Borrell assumed his current role, which is based in Brussels, approximately five years ago. It would appear that during this period, Russia (and Turkey) have compelled the Europeans to withdraw from Libya. Furthermore, in recent years, Russia has also become involved in West Africa, following the ascendance of anti-French military leaders in Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso through coups d'état. These leaders have requested military assistance from Russia, including military advisers and private military contractors (PMCs). This raises the question of whether Africa is becoming the new front line between Russia and the West, as recently suggested by Le Monde.Or is it just a local reaction and repudiation of the French colonial attitudes that have persisted for decades

The situation is complex. It is not a new development, and Europe's opposition in Africa is primarily driven by local actors. It is difficult to ascertain what it means to live under "European leadership".

Mr Borrell is correct in his assertion that the European Union should be concerned about developments in Africa, particularly in North Africa. In addition, the adjacent Sahara region has been a European priority since Roman times, with the southern Mediterranean coast sometimes even considered part of European civilisation.The Roman Empire stretched all across North African coast and even now in places like Tunisia,Algeria and Libya there are still historial remnants of their time even after 2 thousand years.
In the nineteenth century, Europe established control over North Africa and subsequently over the entire continent.
The French, Brtisith and the Italians colonised from Morocco in the West to Egypt in the West .The process of decolonisation that followed the Second World War did not entail Europe's complete withdrawal from the continent.

In fact, Europe continued to exert control over various aspects of West African society, including the financial system. The former French colonies in West Africa were forced to use the Pan African Franc and their economies were subject to control by the French Central Bank,even now this situation persists and is part of the problems that France has with ists former colonies.
Post the Second World War and in the 1950s and 1960s, Europe began to face a formidable competitor in Africa: the Soviet Union. Over the course of three decades, the Soviet Union managed to significantly expand its influence in the region, reaching considerable levels of influence.
Following the collapse of the USSR, Russia began to re-engage with Africa in the 2000s, with a notable expansion of its presence in the region, including military operations, in several countries that had previously aligned with France. Europe's role in this was pivotal, as it was the Europeans who spearheaded the intervention in Libya, which had far-reaching regional implications. In the last 5 years Russia has held a number of Africa Summits and don't forget that BRICS currently has 3 African members in Egypt,Ethiopia and South Africa and at least 3 African countries have expressed their intention to join BRICS they are Nigeria,Algeria and Tunisia.

In his remarks on the presence of French and Italian forces in Libya in 2019, Borrell does not provide insight into how these troops arrived in the country following the 2011 Western military intervention. The current  increase of Russian or Turkish military bases in Libya can be attributed to the decision by Sarkozy and Obama to overthrow Gaddafi. They were egged on by Hiliary Clinton who famously said in an interview ' We Came,We saw and he died' referring to the brutal execution
of the Libyan leader. Its worth noting that at the time of the West's Military interventon and overhtrow of Kadaffi,Libya was the richest country in Africa with the higest standards of living. Now thanks to the Wests megaolmania Libya is a failed state.  

Its also worth noting, the Central African Republic, Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso would not be so closely aligned with Russia if the West had not helped to strengthen Islamist and separatist movements across the region by destroying the unified Libyan state.This destruction of Libya left a vaccum and a void which the US looked to exploit using its Islamic proxies across North Africa and the Middle East particularly in Syria where they shiped arms from Libya to ISSIS

The US's  hatred of Gadaffi ,was based his pan-African policy. The colonel made significant contributions to the integration process of African states, a move that was not well-received by Europe or the United States.He proposed the introduction of a Pan African Currency backed by Libya's gold reserves and he also angered the US by deciding just like Sadam before him to stop selling his oil for dollars.
Similarly, they are also not to happy with China's expanding presence in Africa and Russia's resurgence in the region, which had commenced at that time. However, the West's decision to overthrow Gaddafi and disintegrate Libya has had a detrimental impact on its own position, in a number of ways.
These include the influx of millions of migrants and the disappointment of the elites of West African states. As with the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, the West has created significant long-term challenges for itself in Libya without securing any geopolitical benefits.
The Libyan conflict has also undermined the West's position in large parts of the Sahara and Sahel. Russia's entry into the region was made easier and the conditions for this were created as a result of European military intervention. This is something that Borrell should be grateful for, as it was Europe that decided to make the dream of a united Mediterranean a reality.
So its just another example of the idiocy of EU policies towards Russia,they try to spread hatred against Russia but the Global South sees that its US and the EU that try to force them to be subservient and try to exploit them for their own selfish interests. They see that working with Russia and China brings tangible benefits while the EU offers empty platitudes/