Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2009-11-25-Speech-3-364"
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"en.20091125.23.3-364"2
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"Madam President, this time the focus on the whole question of Somalia is wider, also addressing the root causes of this scourge with sustainable methods. The Commission has always maintained that piracy can only be finally eradicated by addressing the underlying causes, beginning with the instability in Somalia and also addressing the country’s development needs, which manifest themselves in the most extreme poverty, including massive illiteracy and vulnerability.
Therefore, a comprehensive approach to addressing the challenges of security and development in Somalia, which have been mentioned, is essential. This will require the establishment of a functioning state, capable of enforcing laws and providing at least basic services. In the medium to long term, governance, including institution-building and security, education and economic development are necessary preconditions for the eradication of the incentives which now exist for Somalis to become pirates.
On the security side, a rapid approach is essential. The African Union has, as you know, a pivotal role to play, not least through AMISOM, which is the African Union force providing security for the transitional federal government in Mogadishu. Through the Africa Peace Facility, the European Union is a major contributor to AMISOM, providing funds to support African Union forces. The new contribution agreement of EUR 60 million has just been finalised. This is part of a pledge made by the Commission at the conference in Brussels in April this year. The joint strategy paper 2008-2013 defines Commission assistance to Somalia and, in concrete terms, the EC support programme for Somalia has a budget of, altogether, EUR 215.4 million from the European Development Fund (EDF) for the period 2008-2013.
The Operation ATALANTA, the EU’s first naval operation, will soon celebrate its anniversary. This operation is a success, providing deterrence to piracy but also raising the awareness of the shipping community on best self-protection measures. But, we all know that much more has yet to be done. In parallel to the operation ATALANTA, the Commission uses the instrument of stability, a financial instrument, to support the Kenyan justice system – as the President of the Council has just mentioned – because Kenya has undertaken to prosecute transferred suspected pirates apprehended by the operation, and it is necessary that there should not be impunity. This support to the Kenyan judiciary system includes a sort of mixture of capacity-building measures for prosecution, police, judicial and prison services. The programme is implemented through the UNODC at a cost of EUR 1.75 million.
In a broader context, regional maritime capacity development is also an important aspect of ensuring security in the area. The Commission supports the implementation of the so-called Djibouti Code of Conduct of the International Maritime Organisation, once again by using our instrument for stability. A programme dealing with certain critical maritime routes, including the Horn of Africa and the Gulf of Aden region, will assist the creation of a regional training centre for maritime affairs in Djibouti. This centre will focus on the capacity-building and training of maritime administration staff, officials and coastguards of the region, including from Somalia, Puntland and Somaliland, as feasible. A regional information-sharing centre in Sana’a, Yemen, has also been identified for funding in 2009. The first phase of this programme has already started and technical feasibility studies are launched.
Let me now turn to another important issue before concluding. The Commission is developing an integrated maritime policy – including an external dimension – and also integrated maritime surveillance across the sectors and borders to generate maritime situational awareness of activities at sea, impacting, among other things, on maritime safety and security, but also on general law enforcement.
The current Swedish Presidency has initiated a significant effort to ensure the inter-pillar coherence of EU maritime policy, ensuring the link between Community action and the work developed under the second pillar, notably by the European Defence Agency. We believe that the integration of maritime surveillance has a strong potential to assist EU operations against piracy, as the harvesting of maritime surveillance data from different sources allows authorities acting at sea to take decisions and react in a more informed manner.
All these different strands of activities, which are also outlined in the EP resolution of last October, constitute the Commission’s contribution to the fight against piracy."@en1
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