On 23 December, the Council of the EU extended the mandates of the EU’s civilian and military CSDP missions in Somalia - EUCAP Somalia and EUTM Somalia - and the maritime Operation ATALANTA until 31 December 2022.
Furthermore, it decided to expand the mandate of Operation ATALANTA to include some secondary executive tasks of countering trafficking of weapons and narcotic drugs, and non-executive tasks of monitoring illegal activities at sea. The operation will thus contribute to the implementation of the UN arms embargo on Somalia and support the fight against Al Shabaab and its funding sources (see EUROPE 12613/23).
For its part, EUCAP Somalia will continue its support for strengthening Somali maritime law enforcement capacity at the federal and regional levels in Somaliland and Puntland. The mission will also assist Somalia in strengthening police capacity, including developing the Federal Darwish and strengthening INTERPOL’s National Central Bureau in Mogadishu.
In addition to the three pillar approach of advice, mentoring and training, EUTM Somalia will refocus its training output on the enabling functions. The mission will further consolidate efforts to develop a functional and effective Somali-owned Training System and will aim to establish a ‘Knowledge management’ mechanism to better monitor the performance of EUTM-trained units. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)