Brussels, 17/11/2009 (Agence Europe) - Meeting in the context of the “Jumbo” Council, EU27 defence ministers approved, on Tuesday 17 November, the crisis management concept (CMC) for a possible new EU military operation for Somalia. This small-scale operation set up in parallel to the EU-led maritime operation, EU NAVFOR Atalanta, should confirm the EU's support for the African Union and for stability in the region and come within a broader effort made by the Somali Federal Transition Government. As adopted, the CMC is for an operation to train Somali security forces in the aim of training some 2,000 men. Training would be carried out outside Somalia, in Uganda, for security reasons and to ensure the link with the African Union mission in Somalia, AMISOM, the only international force present in the country and composed mostly of Ugandans who already conduct training for Somali security forces. The number of military for this kind of mission responsible for training would not exceed 100 (officers and NCOs). The decision to activate such a mission will be taken after a more detailed examination of the situation on the ground has been made, including on the basis of an assessment report drafted by a United Nations working group on the situation in the Somali security sector, the results of which should be known at the end of November. After the first round-the-table ministerial discussion on Tuesday, France, Spain, Slovenia, Hungary, Romania, Portugal and Germany expressed their support for the operation, as did the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Belgium, which nonetheless stressed the need to resolve outstanding issues (including monitoring mechanisms and the payment of trained military personnel). The force generation conference is foreseen for the end of the year. Spain's Defence Minister Carmé Chacon announced in the morning that her country would take on the role of framework nation. France declared it would contribute about 30 personnel, and Hungary will contribute up to 6 or 7 officers. Addressing the press, French Defence Minister Hervé Morin said that, during the bilateral meeting on Wednesday 18 November, he would seek to convince his German counterpart Karl Theodor zu Guttenberg to also contribute to the operation. Defence ministers also discussed the EU maritime operation off the coast of Somalia (EU NAVFOR Atalanta) and possible extension of the operations zone southward, depending on pirate activity and in order to protect fishing vessels. Pending the new United Nations resolution which is to lay the foundations for the fight against piracy, the Council has not yet decided to extend the operations mandate by one more year (the mandate is to expire on 12 December) but has reiterated its intention to do so. Discussions on contributions to be made to this operation are in progress. Sweden's Defence Minister Sten Tolgfors announced during the press conference held after the first Council session that Sweden would ensure the force headquarters between April and August 2010. He nonetheless said it would be important for the force to maintain the same level of quality and competence during the second year of its mandate. And extension of the mandate should not affect the essential goal of the mission, namely the protection of WFP (World Food Programme) convoys and the protection of vulnerable shipping, Mr Tolgfors said. He went on to highlight the fact that the current challenge is to ensure force generation meets all needs. In addition to the Swedish contribution (the patrol ship HMS Crona between April and August), France and Germany may at this stage maintain their means deployed under the current operations mandate. (A.By./transl.jl)