EU extends anti-piracy mission off Somalia

The EU Foreign Affairs Council on Friday extended the EU's counter-piracy operation, called Atalanta, off the coast of Somalia by two more years, until December 2014. The main tasks of the mission are the protection of vessels of the World Food Programme delivering food aid to displaced persons in Somalia and the fight against piracy coast. Today's decision also extended the force's area of operations to include Somali coastal territory as well as its territorial and internal waters. This is to enable Operation Atalanta to work directly with the Transitional Federal Government and other Somali entities to support their fight against piracy from the coastal area, noted the Council in a statement. The EU has provided a budget of EUR 14.9 million for the costs of the prolonged mandate. In a related move, the Council meeting here today also activated the EU Operations Centre in support of the EU Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) missions in the Horn of Africa. The Operations Centre will coordinate and increase synergies between the three CSDP actions in the Horn of Africa. The EU is currently conducting two military operations - Atalanta, which fights piracy off the Somali coast, and EUTM Somalia, which contributes to the training of Somali security forces. It has also started operational planning for a civilian mission to strengthen maritime capacities in the region. The Operations Centre will be active for an initial duration of two years.