Today the Council of the European Union approved the extension until 28 February 2027 of the mandate of the European naval operation Union Naval Force Operation Atalanta (EUNAVFOR Atalanta) which has the task of strengthening the safety of maritime traffic in the northwestern Indian Ocean region by preventing and combating acts of piracy and illegal trafficking. The extension also covers the EU military training mission in Somalia (EUTM Somalia).

The resolution also provides for an update of the mandate of Operation Atalanta to improve maritime security at the off the coast of Somalia, in the Gulf of Aden, in the Ocean West Indian and Red Sea areas and support the creation of a more efficient regional maritime safety system large. With the new mandate, the transaction will continue to combating piracy and reducing illicit trafficking at sea and synergies with the maritime operation will also be strengthened Aspides which currently protects merchant ships in the Red Sea. In parallel, the Maritime Security Center (MSC) Horn of Africa, which supports both Atalanta and Aspides, will be renamed MSC Indian Ocean and its role will be strengthened.

EUNAVFOR Atalanta has announced that in the last 12 months in the region guarded by the mission, 44 attacks or pirate attack attempts.