Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2009-11-25-Speech-3-363"
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"en.20091125.23.3-363"2
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"Madam President, I am grateful for this opportunity to briefly discuss Somalia and, in particular, the very serious problem that is caused by piracy off the coast of Somalia.
I know that there is some interest in Parliament in the rather difficult question of the trial of suspected pirates who have been arrested and apprehended by Atalanta units. There are currently 75 suspects being held in Kenyan jails. The legal process involved amounts to nine different trials and creates a significant additional burden on the Kenyan judicial system. The proper conduct of these trials is, of course, essential if we are to maintain both the deterrent effect provided by Atalanta and the overall credibility of our counter-piracy efforts. A recent agreement with Seychelles, which I imagine you are aware of, on the transfer of suspected pirates constitutes an important additional contribution in this respect. Piracy is a very lucrative business, and it is important that in every single respect, we gear our different activities towards reducing every possibility of the pirates gaining further money from these truly despicable operations that they carry out.
At the end of the day, of course, what we are doing in the maritime waters cannot be a substitute for what needs to be done in Somalia or on Somalia itself, but that, as I indicated earlier, is something where immediate success cannot be taken for granted. We will have to continue the maritime operation and this will require firstly that we are prepared to sustain a long-term commitment of military assets; secondly, that we will have to strengthen coordination cooperation between all of the powers and international bodies involved in this operation; and thirdly, that we must also help to develop regional maritime capabilities as the burden cannot only be on us. The maritime international organisations, such as the contact group on piracy, will have an important role to play here.
Finally, this is one of the areas where we have demonstrated the capabilities of the ESDP in recent years. Go back a couple of years and few of even the most ambitious here would have envisaged us operating European Union naval assets in the Gulf of Aden or in the Indian Ocean. Imperative humanitarian and other reasons have led us to what has, within the limits of what is possible, so far proved to be a relatively successful operation, but let us not have any illusions. Much remains to be done. We need to sustain the operation, and the support of the Parliament is very important in this respect.
I will not go into all of the background: the country has been in dire straits for more than 18 years, the humanitarian situation is horrible, and there is strife throughout the country. There is a process with the transitional federal government, but it is fragile – to put it in the mildest possible terms – and it requires sustained efforts by the international community to gradually move the country towards reconciliation and gradually build up some sort of functioning state that can restore some kind of stability to this horribly torn country.
Piracy is a very serious threat indeed. Addressing that requires a broad engagement within the country itself which, as indicated, is enormously difficult given the current security situation in the country. Accordingly, as you have noticed, our current efforts have been concentrated on practical assistance that can be delivered outside Somalia for the benefit of the country and the people. We are, of course, discussing, as you might be aware, further steps in that particular respect.
On the specific problem of piracy, the Atalanta naval operation continues to operate successfully off the coast of Somalia. All shipments from the World Food Programme have been safely delivered to Somalia from Mombasa to Mogadishu and to Berbera. No successful attacks have occurred in the Gulf of Aden since early May 2009. This is, at least to a certain extent, the outcome of the commitment of the EU Member States and the rest of the international community, which has helped to produce a high-level generation of significant naval assets. The operation’s success in this limited respect is also the result of close cooperation between the civilian maritime community and the EU operational headquarters at Northwood in the UK. This has allowed the development of best management practices which are also increasingly respected by seafarers. There has also been very effective implementation of the coordinated mechanism for the naval protection of commercial traffic in the Gulf of Aden.
For the time being, therefore, it can be said that piracy in the Gulf of Aden has been contained, but still continues. For this reason, the Council has decided to extend the counter-piracy operation until December 2010. This means that we have to be able to sustain our current efforts and maintain the right level of military resources. In parallel, we expect UN Security Resolution AL1846 to be extended over the coming days.
In spite of what I have said, there is no room for complacency. Pirates continue to extend their activities further to the east into the Indian Ocean, and with the end of the monsoon season, we have recently witnessed a new surge of attacks to the north and north-east of the Seychelles, which is quite a distance away. No fewer than 11 ships are currently being held – all of them following attacks in what is referred to as the Somali Basin – with a total of 250 crew members.
With operation Atalanta, we have reinforced our capabilities in this remote maritime area. Additional patrol aircraft have been deployed in the Seychelles, and I can announce that Swedish maritime patrol aircraft will join the force in the Seychelles as well. This has proved helpful. For the time being, additional protection measures are already in place or planned on a national basis, with France, and more recently Spain, offering an appropriate and effective response.
There is also the protection of the internationally recognised transit corridor in the Gulf of Aden. That is the recommended route through the Gulf, and all ships benefit from naval protection irrespective of their flag. We currently have naval units there from the European Union, from NATO and from the US-led coalition maritime forces with very good coordination of the patrols and with the very essential intelligence cooperation that is necessary for an operation of this sort.
China is now willing to associate itself with this coordination mechanism and to participate in the protection. This means that existing mechanisms will have to be evolved and widened. It could, in due course, lead to China, and possibly other maritime powers, taking some responsibilities. Others – Russia, India and Japan – have also deployed naval assets, and they should be invited to join this mechanism as soon as possible. Coordination is, of course, the key to success."@en1
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