Brussels, 21/05/2013 (Agence Europe) - The EU is to provide a further €37 million to step up the fight against piracy off the coasts of several eastern and southern African countries, the European Commission announced on Tuesday 21 May. The funding, which comes from the 10th European Development Fund (EDF), will support the programme to promote regional maritime security (MASE), which aims to support the regional strategy and action plan for the eastern and southern African regions and the Indian Ocean, adopted in October 2010 in Mauritius, to counter piracy and promote maritime security.
Funding aims to facilitate the finalisation of a regional strategy mainly to combat piracy on the ground in Somalia, strengthen the judiciary means needed for arresting, transferring, detaining and prosecuting suspected pirates, train the authorities to tackle the economic repercussions of piracy and the related financial movements, and improve national and regional capabilities that are deployed for the exercise of maritime security operations, including surveillance and coastguards.
Andris Piebalgs, European Development Commissioner, has underlined the extent to which greater safety of shipping routes is important to help promote trade and development in the region. Catherine Ashton, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, said: “This new funding is another sign of our commitment to stamping out piracy. It forms part of our comprehensive approach to assisting countries in the region, which means that we deal with the causes as well as the symptoms of piracy. We have made huge strides over last few years, and this money will help to build on the progress we have made by strengthening legal systems, improving financial controls and training young men to find alternatives to piracy”.
Thanks to the efforts made to overcome the scourge of piracy, the number of acts of piracy fell from 299 in 2011 to 111 in 2012, and the hijacking of ships fell from 25 to 12. In 2013, attacks have remained at the same level. (AN/transl.jl)