The European Union has stopped paying budget support to Sierra Leone, a move Dutch media link to the continued hunt for fugitive Jos Leijdekkers, known in the Netherlands as "Bolle Jos." De Telegraaf reports that the funding freeze means the African country will miss out on millions it had been counting on. The payments were halted as Europe increases pressure in the case, according to the newspaper.
NOS and NU both report that the EU ended its support to Sierra Leone because of Leijdekkers, a Dutch national who remains at large. Dutch Minister Van Weel welcomed the European decision not to provide budget aid to the country, the Noordhollands Dagblad reports. De Gelderlander describes the minister's stance as a pointed signal directed at Leijdekkers, while asking whether the approach is a clever tactic or a risky one.
The reports do not detail how much money is involved, what conditions the EU has set, or what specific actions by Sierra Leone prompted the suspension. They also do not say what Leijdekkers is alleged to have done or where he is believed to be. Those elements remain unclear from the coverage summarized here.
What happens next depends on whether the EU ties any resumption of funding to cooperation in the Leijdekkers case, and on how Sierra Leone responds to the loss of the payments.
