Belgium Fails to Block Rwanda-Linked EU Security Funding in Mozambique

A diplomatic effort led by Belgium and supported by Germany to restrict European Union security funding connected to Rwanda’s military deployment in northern Mozambique has reportedly failed, after EU partners adopted an alternative financing arrangement that preserves support for operations in Cabo Delgado.

The dispute centered on the EU Peace Facility mechanism and its indirect support for the deployment of the Rwanda Defence Force (RDF), which has been operating in Cabo Delgado since 2021 to help Mozambique combat Islamist insurgents threatening strategic infrastructure and civilian populations.

Under the revised arrangement, EU funds are expected to be channeled through the Mozambican government rather than directly linked to RDF operations. Mozambique would then continue contracting and financing Rwandan troops deployed in the region, effectively maintaining the security architecture already protecting key gas installations and transport corridors.

Diplomatic sources cited in regional and European policy circles describe the development as another political setback for Belgium, which has increasingly taken a critical position toward Rwanda within European institutions. The latest disagreement follows Belgium’s unsuccessful 2025 campaign to build broader European backing for sanctions against Kigali over regional security tensions in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

Several EU member states, including France, are understood to have favored maintaining practical security cooperation in Cabo Delgado, where multibillion-dollar liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects involving major European energy companies remain vulnerable to insurgent attacks.