31/07/2026 (Agence Europe) – The ambassadors of the EU Member States meeting within the Political and Security Committee reconfirmed, on 16 July, the authorisation of the European Union military operation in the Mediterranean (EUNAVFORMED Irini) and extended the operation from 1 August to 30 November 2026, according to the legal act linked to the decision, published on Friday 31 July. Every four months, the operation must be reconfirmed, “unless the deployment of maritime assets of the operation produces a pull effect on migration on the basis of substantiated evidence gathered according to the criteria set in the Operations Plan”, the decision notes. The operation’s mandate, subject to these reconfirmations, runs until 31 March 2027. EUNAVFORMED Irini has also now been tasked with combating the Russian ‘shadow fleet’ (see EUROPE 13914/41). (CG)