The European Council has adopted two decisions amending the mandates of the EU's naval operations EUNAVFOR Aspides and EUNAVFOR Atalanta. The council said these updates come as the EU continues to actively contribute to safeguarding freedom of navigation in the Red Sea and the wider region, where its naval presence has already helped protect key maritime routes and infrastructure, and global trade flows. The council added that the decisions further reinforce the EU's maritime engagement and underline the need for sustained contributions of assets, including vessels. The council amended the mandate of EUNAVFOR Aspides, the EU operation established in February 2024 as a defensive operation in response to repeated Houthi attacks on international shipping. In addition to its existing tasks, the operation will now, within its means and capabilities: collect and share information on suspicious activities related to critical submarine infrastructure (CSI); contribute to capacity building by training Djiboutian maritime forces; cooperate with the Yemeni Coast Guard; and strengthen links with other EU initiatives, including CRIMARIO, the EU's critical maritime routes project. Following the 2025 strategic assessment, the council also adopted amendments to the mandate of EUNAVFOR Atalanta, the EU's long-standing maritime operation in the Western Indian Ocean and the Red Sea. The updated mandate: suspends the monitoring of illicit charcoal trade, while maintaining secondary tasks on monitoring arms and narcotics trafficking and illegal fishing; strengthens links with other EU initiatives, including CRIMARIO; and adds a new task to collect and share information on suspicious activities related to CSI, within available means and capabilities.
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