The British want to wait for the EUNAVFOR Atalanta extension (Update)

(BRUXELLES2, exclusive) "Sorry, I forgot to tell you, sorry. But, well, here we are, we cannot approve this decision today". This is a bit like what the British ambassador to Coreper, Jon Cunliffe, could have said when he posed - what is called in diplomatic terms - a "holding reserve" in front of his colleagues from the other Member States on the decision to extend the Eunavfor Atalanta mission, and to extend it geographically to the Somali coast. No proof was really given except the necessity. There is no need. What seems certain, and confirmed, is that the British have no problem in principle with this decision. But a little temporary state of mind... A bit like when you put down a "parliamentary reserve" so as not to get angry with a susceptible parliament. As a result, the European decision which had nevertheless been the subject of a discussion, within the ambassadors of the Political and Security Committee (COPS), then of a procedure of silence, and which had only one course completely formal at Coreper, is suspended until further notice. Nor can it be approved at the next EU Council of Ministers on Friday. (also read: Brits want to wait for Eunavfor Atalanta extension).

But why ?

A problem in London?

We cannot believe that the ambassador, who is also David Cameron's former sherpa at the G8 and coordinator of European affairs in the Prime Minister's Office for several years, forgot to mention it to the Cabinet... or that he forgot that the House of Commons existed. 🙂 Or that his COPS colleague did not warn him of the work already done for several weeks. Or that he wanted to "do a favour" (bad move in English 🙂 ) to the High Representative of the EU, Catherine Ashton, who had planned to announce this news during the gymnich, the informal meeting of Foreign Affairs, on Friday in Copenhagen.

Britons turned cowards?

Nor can it be imagined that the United Kingdom would be opposed to having a more offensive attitude against the Somali pirates. On several occasions, British officials have expressed their wish, their desire, their will, to have more robust action. The Secretary of State at the Foreign Office, Henry Bellingham had been particularly explicit before the Chamber of Shipowners on October 12: "This Government is 100% behind a more robust response to piracy, and we are glad to see the Royal Navy, EUNAVFOR and NATO leading the way." (read here his speech). And the anthem of a necessary action on the ground has been taken up several times, most recently at the last conference on Somalia in London, on February 23. It should also be noted that the Foreign Affairs Committee of the House of Commons held a debate followed by the publication of a report (early January 2012) calling for more determined action, particularly on land.

... or a little slow to relax

Some gossips could still say that the British are thinking of deploying their flagship, landing ship, HMS Ocean, off Somalia, as reported by the popular Daily Mail a few days ago : "Mr Cameron has ordered plans be drawn up to deploy Apache helicopter gunships from helicopter carrier HMS Ocean against Somali pirates and terrorists. And this one is a little slow and would be a little behind schedule to find itself, in time, facing the Somali coast. Or the crew is not quite for its new Lipdub as it had gratified us on the return from mission last year (read: Back from Libya, singing), with their happy cover of Mariah Carey's hit, "All I want for Christmas Is You" 🙂

A problem with the Somalis?

One could also wonder if the Somalis really approved of this initiative. Don't look on that side, it's already done. There is no problem. The UN Secretary General has already received the letter of acceptance from the Transitional Federal Government for European ships to enter these waters.

What if it wasn't London or Somalia but... Brussels ?

The reason is perhaps quite simply prosaic and would nestle a few kms from Justus Lipsius, the headquarters of the European Union, but bd Leopold III, at the NATO headquarters. The Atlantic Organization has not yet adopted a similar decision for its anti-piracy operation, Ocean Shield. The military committee is only meeting tomorrow (Thursday) and the decision to extend Ocean Shield until December 2014 should be approved - barring any additional problems - at the next Atlantic Alliance Council (NAC) next Tuesday or Wednesday (13 or 14 March). However, the Alliance should not go as far as the European Union. The “same level of commitment should be maintained,” a diplomat told B2. It is therefore not planned to extend its area of ​​action to the coasts and territorial waters or to change the rules of engagement (which are already rather robust, as evidenced by the actions recently carried out by the British ships RFA Fort Victoria or Danish Absalon).

According to our information. it is ... the Americans who did not want such an extension. And several states of the Alliance - which are already participating in the EU mission - felt that it was not necessary to double strike either. This should probably explain the "waiting position" of our British "friends". The United Kingdom - faithful to its Atlanticist preference - would simply not have wanted the European Union to have a small preview and would have decided to exercise its right of "waiting", just for a few days or a few weeks, the time that the big sister of bd Léopold III gets up to speed.

This is not the first time that the United Kingdom has used this superfuge...

(Update) A British diplomat I interviewed denied any other hidden agenda. " We must formally submit this request to our parliament, to the committee in charge of European issues (European Scrutiny committee). It is a question of democracy. It's not about blocking the process. “Others besides us also have this process he told me. As for the calendar, there is no forecast yet, but it should be “quick”. " There is no agenda or hidden strategy he made a point of telling me... Do we believe him?