EU foreign ministers are likely on Monday (27 July) to back the appointment of an EU Special Representative (EUSR) for the Horn of Africa and to support the despatch of a mission to Somalia to prepare an aid and development package for the country.
However, they are also expected to delay until the autumn a decision on providing military support to Somalia's fledgling security forces.
The abduction of two French defence ministry officials in Mogadishu, Somalia's capital, on 14 July has heightened the concerns that many member states have about the fierce fighting on the ground and the weakness of the transitional government.
Formal mission
France began a separate training programme for around 100 Somali soldiers in neighbouring Djibouti in mid-July.
It intends to raise that number to 500 by September and hopes that EU member states will upgrade the programme to a formal mission operating under the European Security and Defence Policy.
If ministers do lend support to the creation of a EUSR post, it would fall to Javier Solana, the EU's foreign policy chief, to draw up a mandate and identify candidates.
Earlier this month, Solana appointed General Pierre-Michel Joana of France as his personal representative for Somalia.
Other topics on the ministers' agenda include the situation in Georgia, a year after Russia's invasion, and whether to take further diplomatic action against Iran, which is still holding one EU citizen – a French student – in detention.
Source: European Voice
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