The spokesman for the European External Action Service, Peter Stano, announced on Wednesday 29 April that the arms embargo monitoring mission, EunavforMed Irini "could be operational from now onwards".
"The vast majority of Member States have pledged to provide staff and resources within a very short period of time", he explained.
Specifically, during the initial force generation that ended on 28 April, three ships and three aircraft were made available for the mission. The scheme will be supplemented "by three additional ships and three additional aircraft in associated support", i.e. only for a specific period, Mr Stano added. When asked about the countries providing the ships and aircraft, the Operation Irini press service had not, at time of going to press, answered our questions.
On 28 April, a European source told EUROPE that the force generation conference had resulted in the mission's flagship being secured and that it would sail "in the next few days". It will be supported and joined by several ships, the source explained. That flagship is likely to be Italian. According to a source quoted by AFP, it will initially be assisted, if necessary, by the vessels of the Member States present in the area until the other vessels assigned to the Irini operation arrive in the area.
A diplomat explained to EUROPE that air assets were already at work. According to a Radio Radicale journalist, at least two air missions have been flown from Sicily on behalf of the Irini mission since 26 April. One of the operations is believed to have involved the overflight of a Turkish ship. Operation Irini did not confirm this information.
Asked about the delay of one month between the creation of the mission (see EUROPE 12458/19), which itself had been complicated, and the actual promises of ships, one source said that it was normal that it should take time, both because the previous mission, Sophia, had no naval resources left, and also because of the coronavirus. Indeed, some States would be more cautious about sending resources - and men - and it is more complicated for national parliaments to sit at the moment, when some have to give their agreement to the dispatch of these resources. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)