European anti-piracy operations off Somalia will continue for at least one more year after defence ministers ruled that piracy would continue to pose a threat to shipping in the region.
The European Union’s Council of Ministers extended the mandate for Operation Atalanta for a further 12 months after concluding that piracy in the Gulf of Aden was likely to remain “a serious threat beyond Operation Atalanta’s current end date of 13 December 2009”.
The joint EU naval operation, which currently involves naval vessels from Belgium, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Greece, the Netherlands, Spain and Sweden, had an initial mandate that lasted just 12 months.
In a statement issued earlier today, the Council noted: “Operation Atalanta had demonstrated its ability to act effectively against piracy… and that early agreement on extending the operation would facilitate the necessary force generation.”
The joint funding of the current operation amounts to €8.3m ($11.5m). This budget, which is shared between the EU member states, mainly covers the running costs of the operational headquarters. The common costs for supplying the force are borne by the contributing countries and established according to their involvement in the operation.
It is understood that this arrangement is likely to be extended with the new mandate set to expire on December 13, 2010.
The European Union’s Council of Ministers extended the mandate for Operation Atalanta for a further 12 months after concluding that piracy in the Gulf of Aden was likely to remain “a serious threat beyond Operation Atalanta’s current end date of 13 December 2009”.
The joint EU naval operation, which currently involves naval vessels from Belgium, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Greece, the Netherlands, Spain and Sweden, had an initial mandate that lasted just 12 months.
In a statement issued earlier today, the Council noted: “Operation Atalanta had demonstrated its ability to act effectively against piracy… and that early agreement on extending the operation would facilitate the necessary force generation.”
The joint funding of the current operation amounts to €8.3m ($11.5m). This budget, which is shared between the EU member states, mainly covers the running costs of the operational headquarters. The common costs for supplying the force are borne by the contributing countries and established according to their involvement in the operation.
It is understood that this arrangement is likely to be extended with the new mandate set to expire on December 13, 2010.