Not just US, but EU too

Date: 18/04/1996

Far be it from Entre Nous to do the Commission's promotional work, but someone has to, because to judge from the high profile despatch of US troops from Frankfurt for a Liberia evacuation operation, you would think the Americans had caught the EU napping yet again. After all, the Union's four aid experts and their families in the country were nowhere to be seen.

But that fails to tell the whole story. The Union was the first to become aware of the latest outbreak of hostilities and found itself briefing both the US and some of the EU's larger member states with strategic interests in the area. Its contingency plans were activated smoothly and emergency food and medical supplies were already in place. The EU's embassy became an assembly point for Europeans and a major source for those in the outside world seeking up-to-date information on events.