"Crimgo" starts to attack the pirates of the West African

Given the persistence of piracy in the Gulf of Guinea, the European Union has decided to initiate a new project to strengthen " the safety and security of maritime routes "between African countries of the Gulf. Commissioner Andris Piebalgs, responsible for Development, has just announced on Thursday (January 10). The region suffers, indeed, currently a " lack of coordination between the Coast Guard and among different regions "says it does on the European side. In addition there is no "common standard yet maritime training and the sharing of information between countries is insufficient" . A view shared by most experts on the subject, according to our information.

A persistent risk of piracy

While piracy tends to dry up in eastern Africa, it continues to exist and even grow in the west. The latest incident is not far away. End of December, three Italian sailors of MV Asso Ventuno were taken hostage off Nigeria, they have just been released on Wednesday (January 9th), officially "without paying ransom" (? . Nothing in Nigeria, some 98 acts of piracy, armed robbery committed at sea and marine pollution were recorded between 2008 and 2012. everything in a region that has a strategic interest for Europeans. According to economic data, the Gulf of Guinea " is currently 13% of imports of oil and 6% of gas imports in the EU . "

Training and Information Network

CRIMGO program - that is his name - as "critical maritime routes in the Gulf of Guinea" - will have two main lines of action: 1) training of coastguards, 2) the establishment of a network for the exchange of information between countries and agencies in the region. It should be implemented in seven countries in West Africa (Benin, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Nigeria, Sao Tome and Principe and Togo). And it will be conducted primarily by government departments in several countries (France, Portugal, Spain, UK) and universities (Finland, Italy, Poland) (*). The budget made at the European level is 4.5 million Euros. Start: as soon as this month announced the DG Development.


Not a mission CESDP

Comment : It is not a mission here CESDP (structures crisis management) - as in Eastern Africa (EUCAP Nestor). But indeed, the release of funding under the program "road review" (**) in the framework of the Instrument for Stability, led by DG Development and not by the European Diplomatic Service (EEAS) . This poses some problems of coordination. And deserves questioning the coherence of EU action in the field as their complementarity or concurrently, or ... competition. I will return!

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(*) Among the project partners are indeed France Expertise International (a public institution depending on the Quai d'Orsay) and the Directorate of security cooperation and defense Quai, the Direção-Geral de Política do Mar (Portuguese ), the Fundación Internacional de Administración y paralberoamérica there Políticas Públicas (Spanish), the Foreign Office (UK) and the University of Applied Sciences Satakunta (Finland), the International Maritime Safety Security Environment Academy (Italy) and Szczecin Maritime University (Poland).

(**) The "critical maritime routes" was founded in 2009 and has focused its activities on the South-East, the western Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Guinea. It aims to improve safety and security at sea and thus help make it safer waterways transport and merchant. In the long term, it aims to improve maritime governance. Its modest budget. Since its launch, € 16 million were allocated to these activities.