EU starts anti-piracy mission

The European Union formally launched its anti-piracy task mission off the Somali coast yesterday, preparing to take over from the NATO flotilla guarding one of the world's most important shipping lanes.

EU foreign ministers met to inaugurate the operation yesterday afternoon, said Cristina Gallach, spokeswoman for the bloc's foreign policy chief Javier Solana. But the hand-over in the Gulf of Aden does not take place until Dec 15.

Six EU warships and three maritime reconnaissance aircraft will patrol the region and escort cargo ships carrying relief aid through pirate-infested waters to Somalia, as the NATO vessels have done since the end of October. The NATO ships will return to Europe.