The European Council has updated the mandates of its key naval operations, EUNAVFOR ASPIDES and EUNAVFOR ATALANTA, to strengthen maritime security and safeguard global trade routes, according to an official European Council press release.
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.
Under the revised mandate, EUNAVFOR ASPIDES, the EU operation established in February 2024 as a defensive operation in response to repeated Houthi attacks on international shipping, will expand its role.
The mission, according to the press release, will now collect and share information on suspicious activities related to critical submarine infrastructure, contribute to capacity building by training Djiboutian maritime forces, cooperate with the Yemeni Coast Guard, and strengthen the 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.
According to the European Council press release, EUNAVFOR ASPIDES was established on February 8, 2024, and launched on February 19, 2024, in response to threats to maritime security in the Red Sea. Its mandate has been extended until 28 February 2027 via a Council decision in February 2026.
EUNAVFOR ATALANTA was launched in 2008 as the EU’s first naval operation. Initially tasked with counter-piracy, its mandate expanded in 2022 to include the countering of illicit arms and drug trafficking at sea. The mission has also been extended until 28 February 2027.
Both operations form part of the EU’s integrated approach to maritime security, contributing to the regional stability of the areas covered by their mandates.
