Brussels, 03/01/2012 (Agence Europe) - On Monday 19 December, the Council of the EU decided to extend the police mission in the Palestinian territories (EUPOL COPPS), together with the border assistance Mission at the Rafah (EU BAM Rafah) passage point, for a further six months. The missions will therefore come to an end on 30 June 2012. Although a merger of these two missions had been raised, it was ultimately decided that there would be a simple extension on the basis of the existing mandates decided, which provide the EU BAM Rafah mission with an additional budget of €970,000 and the EUPOL COPPS mission with €4,750,000. At the same time, a strategic review is taking place under the auspices of the CMPD (Crisis Management and Planning Directorate) in an effort to decide the future of these missions, particularly in a context where the Palestinian Authority is seeking to speed up the process for recognition of a Palestinian state at an international level. (JK/transl.fl)