Force Commander Meets Key European Union Actors in Mogadishu

January 9, 2020 - 12:16

“EU NAVFOR Somalia Operation ATALANTA is eager to contribute to the unity of effort of the European Union in Somalia."

Commodore José António Vizinha Mirones

Operation ATALANTA Force Commander

Mogadishu, 05 January 2019—In a trip to the area of operations this week, Force Commander Commodore José António Vizinha Mirones visited with important, key actors in Somalia. The meetings included sessions with sister missions European Union Capacity Building (EUCAP) Somalia and European Union Training Mission (EUTM) Somalia and also a discussion with European Union Ambassador to Somalia Mr. Nicolas Berlanga.

The purpose of the meetings was to introduce the new Force Commander to key partners and EU sister missions and to identify opportunities for Operation ATALANTA to further support the EU, the UN, Somali authorities and other security actors in the region in upcoming months. In the meetings, the main theme was maintaining and improving the integrated approach and mutual cooperation between EU Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) missions and operations and and EU and UN representatives in Somalia.

“EU NAVFOR Somalia Operation ATALANTA is eager to contribute to the unity of effort of the European Union in Somalia,” said Commodore Vizinha Mirones.

The European Union’s Integrated Approach Against Piracy in the Horn of Africa

Somali-based piracy is a complex issue that can only ultimately be overcome by combining political and diplomatic efforts with military and legal action, development assistance and strong international co-ordination. With all these tools at its disposal, the EU is in a unique position to contribute to international efforts.

EU NAVFOR is one part of the EU Integrated Approach, tackling both current symptoms and root causes of the problem. To that end, other CSDP Missions in region include:

EUCAP Somalia:

EUCAP Somalia is a civilian mission augmented with military expertise designed to support regional maritime capacity-building.

EU Training Mission Somalia

The EU Training Mission – Somalia (EUTM Somalia) is an EU military training mission which aims to strengthen the Somali National Government (SNG) and the institutions of Somalia, by providing military training to members of the Somali National Armed Forces (SNAF).

Together, EU NAVFOR, EUCAP Nestor and EUTM form a coherent, integrated CSDP package supporting the EU’s Strategic Framework for the Horn of Africa.

Strategic Framework

The EU’s multi-facetted engagement in the Horn of Africa is guided by its “Strategic Framework for the Horn of Africa”. This defines five priorities for EU action:

Building robust and accountable political structures
Contributing to conflict resolution and prevention
Mitigating security threats emanating from the region
Promoting economic growth
And supporting regional economic co-operation

To co-ordinate these efforts, the EU appointed a Special Representative to the Horn of Africa on 1 January 2012. He was tasked to focus on Somalia and the regional dimensions of instability in the country, as well as on piracy, which has its root causes in the instability of Somalia.