For Javier Solana, the EU must support the "rule of law" in Somalia
(BRUSSELS2 / In Gothenburg) Javier Solana is going to repeat it tomorrow to the EU Defense Ministers meeting in Gothenburg: various actions must be considered towards more assertive support for the transitional government of Somalia and the stabilization of this country. It is not only a question of prolonging the Atalanta anti-piracy operation on land, by fighting against piracy; it is more generally to ensure the stabilization of this country, classified as " failed state to avoid further disaggregation. And, to avoid a direct commitment to the Afghan, the Europeans (and more generally the West) want to focus on strengthening the security structures of the Somali state. The training missions for Somali soldiers, carried out bilaterally by the French and the United States, are coming to an end.
Go further. Now it is a question of going further, of considering more continuous support in training the military, but also the police J. Solana explained to me. " And why not coastguards?. These people would be trained "off shore": in Djibouti, Uganda, or elsewhere, it depends on the offers”. If, for the moment, there is no question of an ESDP mission of the EU, on the other hand, the meeting of Ministers of Defense aims to begin to reach a consensus to define the framework of a possible mission . " It's about seeing what we can do together to strengthen the Somali state ».
A series of meetings (three in all) took place last week in New York allowing progress towards certain solutions. Several EU missions have visited the countries of the region, in particular Mr. Afrique de Solana, General Joana, as well as missions of technical experts ("fact finding mission"), who have gone in particular with the UN Officially, no European has been in Somalia itself. In fact, it seems that contacts have been made at all levels, including with the autonomous entities of Puntland and Somaliland. Which is not in itself new Eunavfor and NATO officials have had contacts with Puntland, and experts from the European Commission have been present in Somaliland.