The Council appointed today new Heads of Mission (HoM) for three EU’s civilian missions: the EU Monitoring Mission in Georgia (EUMM Georgia); the EU Police Mission for the Palestinian Territories (EUPOL COPPS); and the EU Capacity Building Mission in Somalia (EUCAP Somalia).
As regards EUCAP Somalia, the Council appointed Kęstutis Lančinskas, a Lithuanian national, as the new Head of Mission (HoM) from 1 May 2024 to 31 December 2024. He will succeed Kauko Aaltomaa. Kęstutis Lančinskas currently serves as advisor for national security issues to Prime Minister of Lithuania.
Before assuming this position, he was Vice-Minister of Interior, responsible for crisis management and state border protection. He also provided his EU-related expertise to the Governments of Armenia and the Republic of Moldova on law enforcement agencies reforms, and headed the EU Advisory Mission (EUAM) in Ukraine, supporting the Ukrainian authorities in the area of the law enforcement agencies reforms, including the police, the anti-corruption bodies and the prosecution service.
The EU-Somalia relationship is strong and comprehensive. In line with Somalia’s priorities, as well as the Global Gateway Strategy, the EU together with the EU Member States as Team Europe, supports the country’s state-building efforts, economic and private sector development and the increased resilience of most vulnerable populations while reducing the effects of the climate crisis.
The EU provides support across all critical areas.
Education, in particular, is at the heart of these objectives in Somalia, both as a building block for human development and fundamental rights as well as a vital catalyst to achieving the EU’s priorities.
The EU is seen as one of the country’s strongest partners. Since 2014, the EU and its Member States has provided over €3.5 billion to Somalia.
EU support to promote reconciliation and the peaceful resolution of conflict, to boost the capacities, accountability and effectiveness of the security sector and strengthen the responsiveness of the state, including the protection of human rights.
