Somalia: EU missions EUCAP and EUTM prolonged

The Council prolonged the mandate of its two CSDP missions in Somalia, the civilian mission of capacity building EUCAP and the military training mission EUTM, both until 31 December 2018.  The Council renamed the capacity building mission EUCAP Nestor "EUCAP Somalia".

The objective of EUCAP Somalia is to assist this country in strengthening its maritime security capacity, so that maritime law is enforced more effectively. The EU military mission EUTM Somalia contributes to the capacity building of Somali National Army (SNA).

The EU has a comprehensive approach in Somalia based on active diplomacy and support to the political process, security support, development assistance and humanitarian aid. It aims to tackle both the symptoms and root causes of piracy. The EU support includes the two missions prolonged today, as well as EU NAVFOR Operation Atalanta, the EU military operation countering piracy off the coast of Somalia. The operation was prolonged on 28 November 2016 until 31 December 2018.