Spain requests an extension of Eunavfor to the south

(B2) The note that the Spanish ambassador to the European Union has just given to his counterparts in the 27 sounds the tocsin. Recent attacks in southern Somalia - a dozen attacks carried out between March 21 and 24, including two close to Dar es Salaam (Tanzania), about 500 miles from the Somali coast and close to the exclusive economic zone of Seychelles, and northwest of Madagascar - show a clear "aggravation"of the situation and are a"direct threat to the fishing and merchant fleet"explains the Spanish diplomat. Spain (supported by Greece and France) thus intends to call, during the Council of Fisheries Ministers on Thursday and Friday (April 23 and 24), the European Union to take "appropriate measures to protect the interests of the (European) Community fleets operating in this areaand".

An extension of the upcoming Atalanta operation. The idea underlying this Spanish note aims to promote an extension of the EUNAVFOR Atalanta operation to the Seychelles area, and to establish a "base" in the area to facilitate the conduct of operations. It is also a question of adding expressly to the objectives of the operation, the protection of the European fishing fleet (NB: approximately 250 European vessels fish for tuna in this area, mainly Spanish and French, let us note a few Portuguese, British , also Greek). A note which confirms the analysis of the military leaders of the operation, considering it necessary to rebalance EUNAVFOR geographically between the two zones (Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean) and also comes at the right time - when will begin to establish a first assessment of the operation (the term of six months arrives at the beginning of June) and to negotiate the renewal of the operation.

(NGV)