According to a draft EU Council decision obtained by EUROPE, dated 1 December, the EU Council could decide in the coming days to extend the EU mission in support of maritime capacity in Somalia (EUCAP Somalia) for two years, until 31 December 2022, and to add tasks to it.
In addition to its current missions, the EU Council considers that EUCAP should assist Somalia in building up its police capacities “to support the implementation of the Somali Transition Plan for the transfer of security responsibilities to the Somali authorities”.
The EU mission could thus strengthen the capacity of the Ministry of Internal Security and the Somali Police Service to implement this transition plan. This would comprise advice and guidance, “as far as possible”, on policy, command, control and coordination, as well as project support and equipment to back up the initiatives of the Union and international partners.
The decision states that the mission does not exercise any executive functions.
According to the draft decision, for the period from 1 January 2021 to 31 December 2022, a budget of €87.78 million would be allocated to the mission, compared with €71.189 million for the previous period. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)