Commission bets on private guards but refuses self-regulation

(BRUSSELS2) It was Commissioner Piebalgs who was on duty at the European Parliament on Wednesday, facing MEPs on maritime piracy. To be honest, he didn't have an easy role. The question of the imprisonment of Italian soldiers in India had raised the tension a notch. And, all of a sudden, several deputies discovered the phenomenon of piracy. They have thus sometimes fallen head over heels for the High Representative of the EU, guilty of all evils, starting from not being there, or for the military operation Atalanta. With a certain bad faith and ignorance of basic data, I must say. Some deputies quoted fanciful figures of sailors held hostage by pirates: 600 for one! (the prepared sheets must have been somewhat dated). Others pointed the finger at the military as a cause of the slippage, confusing the causes and the remedies. Etc...

The discovery of solidarity

The Italian deputies were particularly active during the debate. Some (those of the PDL, Berlusconi's freedom party) wore a white T-shirt "support our pirates". Even the president of the session, Roberta Angelilli, wore a T-shirt in support of the two soldiers held hostage, with the inscription "a fianco de maro" (alongside Maro); which is usually rather rare for a presidency. It is quite remarkable to see these MEPs calling for European solidarity, solidarity which they suddenly seem to discover: I do not remember having seen a major commitment from Italy, under Berlusconi, in the European operation Eunavfor Atalanta, where Italian ships were rather scarce.

The European Commissioner for Development, Andris Piebalgs, who spoke on behalf of the High Representative, detained in Brussels, wanted to be reassuring about the fate of the soldiers imprisoned in India: “From the beginning we have been in constant contact with the Italian government on this subject. Following Italy's request to help, the EU has raised the issue with Indian authorities, both in Brussels and New Delhi, encouraging a positive outcome as soon as possible.. he explained, also referring to the meeting between High Representative Cathy Ashton and Prime Minister Mario Monti.

From Correen to Geoffrey...

The debate has sometimes been surreal. Let's skip over the Dutch MEP Coreen Wortmann-Kool (EPP) who wants us to " go knock the pirates ashore” et "calls on the Commission to have recourse to special forces ! You imagine the special forces helicopters taking off from the roof of the Berlaymont, heading for Somalia. 🙂 I also can't resist the urge to quote this good Geoffrey Van Orden (British Tory) who, true to his attachments, urged Europeans to take care of the " civil " uniquely. " The EU has military ambitions. But it should leave it up to the professionals, that is to say NATO, those who know “he let go, specifying that” 80% of pirates arrested had been arrested by NATO ". Delicacy, accuracy, exactness even... A debate on Europe, without Geoffrey, will never be a debate. 🙂 Michael Gahler (CDU-EPP/Germany) replied: that he is " better that the EU remains engaged. Countries like India, China, Russia work better with the EU than NATO, it's a fact! ".

Questions still unanswered

More seriously, some MEPs addressed the issue of ship protection. And here we find the dichotomy between military protection and private protection, with the same problem today, raised by India: What degree of response to have? How to avoid escalation? How to obtain an international agreement on the question? How to control private companies? How to prosecute hackers? We can list the questions that have remained unanswered for 4 years... Undoubtedly, significant steps that have been taken summed up Georgios Koumoutsakos, Greek MP for Neo Democracy (EPP). " But we expect more from the European Commission. The European Union must act more effectively and more coherently he explains. " A common threat requires a common response. It is also a question of political will " he added.

The position of the High Representative: distinguishing between private and military guards

« It's clear ", explained Andris Piebalgs, the European Commissioner for Development, " We need to put this issue in the broader context of our cooperation in the fight against piracy. We need to see what lessons we can learn to prevent such incidents from happening again. (...) We must distinguish in this case between the security forces of the Member States protecting merchant ships and the use of private companies of armed guards on board commercial ships and even fishing boats. Due to the vastness of the sea area, where the Somali pirates now operate, and the limited naval resources available to protect this sea route, the sector has had no choice but to turn to the services provided by contracted armed security personnel on board vessels transiting high-risk areas »

Lack of confidence in self-regulation

For Commissioner Piebalgs, “ the International Maritime Organization has already addressed this issue and issued interim recommendations. But, as piracy does not seem to find a solution in the short term, this subject must be tackled in depth. We are not comfortable with the idea of ​​self-regulation of this new business given the risks of this type of activity, which can lead to the lethal use of force. We believe that the IMO is the international body that should lead to the development of stricter rules, including a mandatory instrument. “The EU will not find a lasting answer on its own”.

A solution that has not received the approval of any deputy. " The IMO is paralyzed, we must take more initiative at European level, this is what we expect from it! » explained Mathieu Grosch (EPP/Cdh, Belgium), summarizing the opinion which seemed fairly consensual on this point. Faced with the “multiplication of private companies. we must watch out for possible abuses” says Nathalie Griesbeck (ALDE/Modem, France) “Who controls them? What are their prerogatives? (...) What do you propose ? ".

Other unanswered questions

However, the Commissioner did not answer a number of specific questions from MEPs, in particular the lack of resources for the Atalanta operation: the drop in ships committed by Member States is worrying. It's necessary " review the financing mechanism of the Atalant operationa” proposes Maria-Eleni Koppa (S&D, Greece), who are " strengthen the military means to protect our sailors (...) and put an end to this generalized impunity by applying the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, otherwise ATALANTA would only be a sword in the face water! », emphasizes Dominique Vlasto (EPP/UMP, France). It takes a " military and legal framework to combat piracy ».

« Private guards are not a solution to piracy...until the issue of governance is resolved lectured Ana Gomes (S&D, Portugal). We must work directly with the federated entities of Somalia “ like Puntland. (...) The EU must drop the TFG which only exists through Ethiopia ».

Financial resources renewed

The Commissioner promised to renew certain measures in progress: in addition to the 100 million promised by the EU for Amisom, humanitarian aid and development aid, support measures for the countries of the region are in progress, with the release of approximately 40 million euros of additional support " under review ". Similarly, the regional monitoring program for the countries of the western Indian Ocean - worth 10 million euros from 2007 to 2011 - " will be renewed ". As for the critical maritime routes program (€7,6 million), financed under the Instrument for Stability since 2009, it enables, among other things, the implementation of Djibouti's regional code of conduct.

Read also: The Parliament calls out the institutions on piracy: what are you doing?

Speech by A. Piebalgs: in the B2 Docs