Speech by Brigadier General Corneliusson

Honourable Minister, Excellences, Admirals, Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is a pleasure and honor to be amongst this esteemed audience and I would like to warmly thank the organizers of the Xiangshan Forum 2016 for giving me the opportunity to submit for your attention the EU perspective on the threats and the challenges that all of us are facing in the "Maritime Domain" and how the EU is reacting in dealing with these challenges.

I will start by giving you the political framework of the EU's response to the global maritime threats, with some more details on our regional strategies, and on the two ongoing EU maritime operations.

Before going to conclusions I will highlight crucial importance of partnership and cooperation while dealing with broad range of threats we are facing in maritime environment.

In full complementarity with the recently released EU Global Security Strategy, the EU has established a Maritime Security Strategy (EUMSS) and its Action Plan.

Making the seas and oceans safer and more secure is for sure one of the big and strategic issues.

I do not need to explain why maritime security matters to such an audience as we have here today, when 90% of the EU's external trade and 40% of its internal trade is transported by sea.

We are convinced that our seas and coasts hold the key to our future. Europe's maritime interests are fundamentally linked to the well-being, prosperity and security of people.

With all security challenges around the world, it goes without saying that our world is definitely getting more complex, connected and contested. In simple words it could be said that today our European world again got smaller, with threats and risks moving closer to our borders or even materializing inside our societies and Nations. The combined effects of all these developments have led to in-depth reflections on fundamental issues regarding our common security and defence. We are confronted to rapidly evolving risks and threats, emanating from different actors, varying in range, scale and direction. The call for a really comprehensive approach to security and defence is uncontested. This, however, requires overcoming internal institutional barriers as well as reaching out to partners and international organisations. The difficulty lies in finding pragmatic ways to implement this. The EU MSS is one of these strategies that is trying to cover all these thoughts, including the challenge of the practical implementation, and could be seen a "sub-strategy" of the new EUGS.

I can clearly say that the Maritime Security is an EU priority topic.

A core subject in Common Security and Defence Policy is represented by Partnerships, whose importance and value are continuously referred to in all EU Policy documents. Particularly stressed in the 2003 European Security Strategy, relationships with Partners have also been given equal attention in the recently presented EU Global Strategy.

Within this framework, a dedicated approach have been developed within the Maritime Security domain, along the lines of a shared responsibility in facing the constant, but diverse and volatile in nature, sea-based threat.

The priority of the EU maritime strategy is to prevent the worsening of any potential crisis situation by promoting a continue High Level Dialogue on maritime security through policy coordination, multi-stakeholder engagement and information sharing. In practical terms, the EU preventive approach aims at synchronizing its objectives and commitments with international Partners as well as with multilateral programmes  led by the UN, the AU and NGOs.

CSDP missions and operations are of course the tactical arm through which the cooperation is developed, with the two already cited examples of EUNAVFOR ATALANTA and EUNAVFORMED SOPHIA.

Let me mention some examples of the tools that have been set up to this end.

The first to mention is the Djibouti Code of Conduct concerning the repression of piracy and armed robbery against ships in the Western Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Aden. The code has been signed by 20 states with the aim to combine maritime security (predominantly regional Navies) operations or allow law enforcement officials to embark in patrol ships/aircraft of another Code's signatory. The Djibouti Code of Conduct provides for information sharing and coordination through a system of national focal points and piracy information exchange centres.

Another case is the Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia (CGPCS), an international cooperation mechanism that acts as a common point of contact between and among States, regional and international Organizations, on all aspects of combating piracy and armed robbery at sea off Somalia coast. Since its creation CGPCS meetings have been attended by representatives from at least 60 Countries and observers from a large number of international and regional Organizations, Navies, as well as industry, seafarers and other non-governmental Organizations.

Last, but not least, tool to mention is the Shared Awareness and De-confliction (SHADE), an international political platform based in Bahrain intended to develop structured strategy aimed at coordinating international naval activities combating piracy and people smuggling, hence avoiding both duplication of effort and conflicts of political intent. SHADE meetings, ongoing since 2009, are functional to information sharing and exchange of views between the various stakeholders in the Gulf of Aden. It is to note that a similar mechanism (SHADEMED) has been created in the Mediterranean Sea in the framework of the Operation EUNAVFOR MED SOPHIA.

EU NAVFOR - ATALANTA was launched November 2008 in response to the rising levels of piracy in the Western Indian Ocean as the first EU Naval CSDP operation. Current mandate is extended until 12 December 2016.

We can say that the Maritime security situation has changed substantially since EU Operation ATALANTA  were launched.

Three pillars have transformed this scene:

The first is the deterrent presence of international naval forces off the coast of Somalia;

the second is the adoption by most merchant vessels of Best Management Practices;

thirdly, the presence of Privately Contracted Armed Security Personnel on board merchant vessels.

As a combined result of these factors, and most importantly, of legal finish, there has been no successful act of piracy since 2012.

But capacity of countries in the region to respond to maritime threats remain weak and ownership of the fight against piracy varies significantly, depending on the level of threat to the individual countries interests and awareness of political decision makers.

In the Mediterranean Sea, the EU has been conducting since 2015 Operation SOPHIA, whose main mission is contributing to disrupt the business model of migrant smugglers and human traffickers, as part of a wider EU comprehensive approach, by denying them freedom of movement and neutralising their vessels and enabling assets. Sophia mission operates within the framework of UN Security Council Resolution 2240 (2015), which authorises us to implement our mandate in international waters.

While retaining focus on our core mandate, on 20 June 2016 the European Council added two supporting tasks:

capacity building and training of the Libyan Coastguard and Navy;

contributing to information sharing, as well as support the implementation of the UN arms embargo on the high seas off the coast of Libya on the basis of UN Security Council Resolution 2292 (2016).

Following an initial preparatory phase, on 30 August 2016 the PSC authorised ENFM to start implementing the two new tasks.

Since the declaration of Full Operational Capability in July 2015, EUNAFORMED SOPHIA has apprehended more than 230 smugglers, seized more than 500 boat (all-sizes) used by smugglers to transport the migrants and, last but not least, rescued about 26500 human lives.

One of the most paramount elements affecting the final success of the operation is its scope thus outreach has been a key part of the mission. As one pillar of the EU’s comprehensive approach to countering irregular migration in the Mediterranean, a fundamental part of the ENFM mission remains to establish relationships and, where appropriate, agreements for information sharing with key international and regional actors. Therefore, the Operation Commander has met with the different groups and organisations in order to develop good working relationships with different regional actors. For instance, by working with NGOs who operate in the region ENFM has improved its operational effectiveness and by working with organisations like EUROPOL, EUROJUST and Italian Prosecutors ENFM has increased its understanding of the smugglers’ networks that seeks to dismantle.

Building on this extensive network of contacts, the Operation Commander established the Shared Awareness and De-confliction in the Mediterranean (SHADE MED) forum. The first meeting was held in Rome on 26 November last year, with the second meeting hosted by the Italian Navy in May.

Over 145 representatives from 74 different organizations attended, ranging from Governments and Armed Forces, International and Non-Governmental organizations, all somehow involved in responding to the challenges of irregular migration in the Mediterranean. Next meeting will be hosted by MARCOM in Naples on next 7-8 November.

The objective of the SHADE MED forum is to achieve a better mutual understanding between civilian and military actors in the Mediterranean, enhancing interaction and assisting with the development of an overall framework for coordinating different activities and to identify best practices to deal with common security challenges.

Recognising the importance of Maritime Security, the EU has made it one of its priority topics, developing a dedicated Maritime Security Strategy. The main message of the EU action in the Security domain call for coherent, timely and comprehensive efforts, in an environment that is less and less suitable to have separated and disjointed roles for each Partner, given the increasing number of common maritime threats and challenges hampering vital and global strategic maritime interests.

CSDP maritime operations offer a functional and effective opportunity for maritime security cooperation, extending its nature from the usual bilateral State-to-State relationship to other formats involving International Organisations, like NATO and, last but not least, ASEAN (with which the EU has organised several dedicated seminars and high level dialogue on Maritime Security)

Let me conclude by saying that in the current global security arena the cooperation is no longer a question of choice or willingness, but more and more a pressing and urgent need, given the generally limited available resources.

Thank you very much for your attention.

I am now ready to take your questions.