At first glance, the task of chasing pirates around the Horn of Africa would seem to be tailor-made for NATO with its need of big ships with big guns, and the willingness of the United States and Turkey to use their naval assets already in the region. But that is not how it all worked out. Instead, the European Union is playing the lead role in the battle against Somali pirates, who had been terrorising shipping on vital trade routes between Europe, Asia and the Middle East.

The reason why the EU’s Atalanta mission has become the lead anti-piracy operator, officials on the Union’s security staff insist, is the EU’s ability to leverage civilian power in support of the military muscle - from the legal agreements with countries in the region to ensure captured pirates can be sent to trial, to development and rule of law outreach to tackle the roots of the piracy problem.

Almost a year into the operation, the EU has captured over 70 pirates. The vast majority have been shipped to Kenya to face trial under an agreement negotiated by the EU’s legal service and financed from the European Commission’s budget. A similar agreement is being finalised with the Seychelles that will allow EU vessels to also take apprehended pirates to the Indian Ocean archipelago for trial and possibleimprisonment.

EU officials stress that the anti-piracy mission was never a classic military operation, but rather an international policing mission to combat crime on the high seas. However, without coast guard vessels able to operate so far from their home ports, it was left to European navies to take on the task. “It’s not about launching torpedoes or missiles on anyone, its about arresting criminals,” said one senior EU official involved in the mission.

The EU sees the work with Kenya as Seychelles as a sort of ‘burden sharing’, since those nations also have an interest in tackling the pirate scourge but lack the ocean-going vessels needed to pursue them. They do, however, have courts and jails.

Thanks to its powerful legal service and access to Commission funds, the EU was able to conclude the deal, which has seen €1.7 million set aside to ensure suspects sent to Kenya are held in humane conditions and receive fair trials.

The agreement stipulates that Kenya will not apply the death penalty in cases of pirates handed over by the EU. Funded by the EU, United Nations observers guarantee that suspects have access to legal representation and interpreters. Kenyan inmates have protested that the Somalis get better treatment in jail, and even prison guards have reportedly complained that their living conditions are worse than those of the Somali prisoners.

The agreement to send some prisoners to the Seychelles should ease any pressure building on the penitentiary system on the Kenyan coast, EU officials say. The EU only hands over pirates when it has clear evidence that may lead to a conviction, often the suspects are sent home after their weapons have been seized.

Operation Atalanta was launched in late 2008 in response to the increasing menace from pirates operating off the coast of lawless Somalia, who were targeting vessels ranging from luxury yachts and fishing boats to supertankers and, significantly, a Ukrainian freighter loaded with arms.

Faced with the mounting threat to shipping, EU nations rallied to the idea of launching a mission. For Atalanta, there was none of the unsightly scrabble for resources that usually marks the launch of major European military missions. So far, 19 EU nations have joined the mission, along with Norway and Croatia. European capitals saw a direct national interest in ensuring the free flow of commerce from the Indian Ocean to the Mediterranean and viewed Atalanta as a relatively risk-free mission that would have broad public support.

The task is, however, by no means easy. The area involved is vast, more than 1.4 million nautical square miles comprising the Southern end of the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden and the Southern coast of Somalia as well as the Indian Ocean around the Seychelles.

The naval force known as EUNAVFOR has ten frigates, assisted by three maritime patrol planes, helicopters and a French submarine. Its annual cost has been estimated at €400 million.

FAR FROM ACTING ALONE

The EU is far from acting alone in the anti-piracy operation. Ships from the navies of 20 countries are active in the seas of the East African coast, some operating under a NATO flag, others in a US-led coalition, some - like China, Russia and India - sailing under their own flags. Regular coordination meetings are held to minimise duplication and EU officials say the collaboration with NATO, at least, works well.

European warships have escorted UN World Food Programme ships carrying 279,300 tonnes of food aid to impoverished Somalis, but the mission’s wider success is hard to evaluate. “It appears that the increased number of warships patrolling the Gulf of Aden and with ships’ masters adhering to the recommended advice and deploying effective anti-piracy precautionary measures, the number of successful hijackings in the Gulf of Aden has dropped dramatically,” the International Maritime Bureau reported last month.

However, it also showed a marked increase in attempted attacks over the first nine months of this year and expressed concern that the pirates were striking further afield and were becoming more desperate and prone to use violence.

SYMPTOMS RATHER THAN CAUSES

The EU recognises that however successful, the maritime mission is tackling only the symptoms rather than the causes of the problem. Far harder is to attempt to bring stability and the rule of law to a country that has been the epitome of a failed state for more than 20 years of civil war, clan violence, extreme poverty and religious strife.

With the reach of the Somali transitional government barely extending beyond a few strongholds and two major coastal regions - Somaliland and Puntland - claiming independence or wide autonomy, EU officials say it is a “nightmare” just trying to find counterparts with whom to discuss development or security building missions.

The security situation makes it unsafe to send EU missions into the country. “Instead of the pirates sailing into the ocean to find hostages, we’d be sending the hostages to them,” said one EU official.

However, the EU is staking steps. High on the agenda is the planned launch of a training mission for security forces loyal to the transitional federal government. With the risks of operating in the country too high, the mission will likely be run in Uganda or Djibouti, building on an existing French training scheme in the Red Sea coast state. About 100 EU officers are expected to participate in the training mission and EU officials say member states are keen to sign up.

One problem they are facing is selection of trustworthy candidates for the training, given the risk of fighters changing sides in Somalia’s multifaceted civil conflict.

In the longer term, the EU is working with the United Nations to try to give guaranteed access to fishing rights for communities along the Somali coast. They are seeking to provide alternative incomes for Somalis who may otherwise be drawn into piracy as the only way of making a living.

The EU’s joint strategy paper for Somalia for 2008-2013 allocates of €215,8 million from the European Development Fund, covering governance, education and rural development. The EU has also been providing planning and capacity building support to the African Union’s peacekeeping mission in Somalia, AMISOM.

European warships have escorted UN World Food Programme ships carrying 279,300 tonnes of food aid to impoverished Somalis