On 23 March 2012 the
Foreign Affairs Council decided to activate, for the first time, the EU Operations Centre, with the aim of coordinating and strengthening civil-military synergies between the three CSDP missions in the Horn of Africa.
The EU is currently conducting a military operation –
EUNAVFOR Operation ATALANTA – which protects humanitarian aid shipments and fights piracy off the Somali coast, and a military mission –
EU Training Mission, Somalia (EUTM Somalia) – which contributes to the training of Somali security forces in Uganda. The EU is also planning a civilian mission to strengthen (
EUCAP NESTOR) (formerly Regional Maritime Capacity Building - RMCB) in the Horn of Africa, including support by expert military personnel.
The Council has appointed Captain (Royal Netherlands Navy) Ad van der Linde as the first Head of the activated EU Operations Centre. He will have a dedicated staff of sixteen personnel.
The
Factsheet on the EU Operations Centre contains additional information on all elements described above.