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AbstractEUNAVFOR Operation Atalanta has been the first maritime operation of the European Union and it has certainly been successful given the significant decrease of pirate attacks off the Somali coast. However, various issues have been raised concerning its legal basis under international law and its legal framework, including questions of responsibility. These issues are particularly interesting since the EU has a more integrated legal order than other organizations involved in such operations (eg UN, NATO). The present article attempts to address these issues against the background of international and European law. Even though the legal basis of the Operation is clear from a European law perspective, there have been certain misconceptions concerning the legal basis of the Operation under international law. The delineation of the Operation's legal framework requires a careful analysis of the rules applicable to each of its phases and of its addressees, since each phase is subject to different rules which are binding on different actors. Finally, there is an extensive discussion of questions of responsibility, which were heavily influenced by the applicable Rules of Engagement and of the actual conduct of the Operation. The conclusion is that, at least on the high seas, responsibility should primarily rest with the flag States rather than with the EU. However, in most cases the EU is indirectly responsible for violations of international law, except in cases where suspected pirates are transferred to third States pursuant to EU agreements with such States, in which case it bears primarily responsibility.

Die internationale Gemeinschaft hat gezeigt, dass sie mit einem koordinierten Einsatz der verfügbaren Einheiten zur Überwachung des Seeraumes am Golf von Aden und mit der durchdachten Stationierung im Somali-Bassin eine größtmögliche Absicherung vor Piratenangriffen bieten kann. Der Beitrag analysiert die EU-Operation Atalanta. Skizziert werden der Auftrag dieser EU-Operation, die Rechtsgrundlagen und die Organisationsstruktur Atalantas. Des Weiteren wirft der Beitrag einen Blick auf den maritimen Einsatz und auf die Luftfahrzeuge sowie auf die anderen beteiligten internationalen Akteure und Kräfte. Der Beitrag geht auf die Koordination der Akteure und auf das Sicherheitskonzept ein sowie auf die Herausforderungen, vor denen diese Operation steht. (ICB2)

This paper critically assesses the EU's anti-piracy operation Atalanta in the light of the protection of Union citizens. The main question is to which extent a Union citizen threatened by pirates off the coast of Somalia could rely on the promise of civis europaeus sum. The paper discusses the various legal aspects pertaining to the forceful protection of EU citizens in international law, EU constitutional law and the operational parameters of Atalanta. It argues that within the particular framework of the international effort to combat piracy, the protection of citizens by military force could be legal. Moreover, the protection of citizens outside the EU forms now one of the legally-binding general objectives of the Union. Yet, this objective is not reiterated in the operational mandate, which creates tension and confusion between the general objective and the CSDP instrument. The paper concludes that the mandate of Atalanta, by focussing entirely on universal objectives, is constitutionally incomplete and shows that the external dimension of Union citizenship is still underdeveloped.

Die EU ist weltweit in zahlreiche zivile und militärische Missionen involviert. Zumindest seitdem die Grundrechte-Charta der EU (GRC) Rechtsverbindlichkeit erlangt hat, stellt sich die Frage, wer insbesondere bei militärischen Operationen für die Einhaltung von Menschenrechten verantwortlich ist und wie diese Verantwortlichkeit durchgesetzt werden kann. Diese äußerst komplexe Fragestellung, die sowohl völkerrechtliche als auch unionsrechtliche Aspekte betrifft, wird in allen ihren Verästelungen erörtert: die Grundrechtsbindung der EU und ihrer Mitgliedstaaten im Rahmen der GASP (Art. 51 GRC), die extraterritoriale Anwendbarkeit der GRC, das Problem der 'Mehrfachbindung' (GRC, EMRK und nationale Verfassungen), die rechtliche Durchsetzbarkeit des Grundrechtsschutzes. Die gewonnen Erkenntnisse werden überdies einem Praxistest unterzogen, indem sie auf einen Sachverhalt, der sich während der Atalanta-Operation (Bekämpfung der Piraten vor dem Horn von Afrika) ereignete, angewendet werden

The topic of this master thesis is the European Union foreign and security policy. More detailed, what sort of foreign policy EU is implementing through its military operation EU NAVFOR Atalanta launched to prevent and combat piracy off the coast of Somalia, and which kind of power position it is seeking through it internationally. The theoretical framework creating the structure of the research comes from Hans Morgenthau and his realistic theory, which he introduced more in detail in his book called Politics Among Nations – The Struggle for Power and Peace (1948). In this book, he separates three different policy types based on the state's foreign policy: policy of imperialism, policy of status quo and policy of prestige. The method of the research is directed content analysis. All the state's actions, especially the ones that are considered to belong to the area of foreign politics, are somehow after power: they either seek to increase, stabilize or show off it. Consequently, the objective is to recognize wether EU is trying to acquire more power, hold on to its present power or mainly just demonstrating its power through Operation Atalanta. Furthermore, embarking upon the identification of the foreign policy type allows us to further see what kind of power distribution EU is seeking in relation to other security actors. By recognizing EU's global ambitions and how it seeks to pursue them in the international security arena predictions can be made of EU's future engagement beyond its borders in the field of foreign and security politics. The analysis shows that EU is implementing mainly policy of prestige in the context of Operation Atalanta; in the beginning policy of prestige contributing towards status quo and later policy of prestige to increase power. Its main purpose was to bring visibility and recognition to EU as a global security actor and increase its estimation of power internationally. Through acquiring more equal power distribution it was trying to place itself next to other big security actors and thus present itself as a credible and capable alternative security source. However, its fundamental objective was not to overthrow the present power balance completely but to make adjustments and shift the power structures towards more beneficial to its global actorness.

Das verstärkte Auftreten von Seeräubern vor der Küste Somalias stellte die Weltgemeinschaft im Jahre 2007 vor lange nicht mehr gekannte Herausforderungen. Das Thema beherrschte lange Zeit die Nachrichten und führte schließlich dazu, dass die erste maritime Militärmission der EU ins Leben gerufen wurde. Auch Deutschland beteiligte sich von Anfang an dieser Mission. Mittlerweile ist das Phänomen der Seeräuberei wieder aus dem Blickfeld der Allgemeinheit verschwunden. Dennoch hoffe ich, mit der vorliegenden Arbeit einen Beitrag zur Einordnung der rechtlichen Fragen rund um Militäroperationen der EU und die Beteiligung Deutschlands hieran geleistet zu haben. Die gewonnenen Erkenntnisse sind in Ihren Grundstrukturen auch auf Fälle dieser Art übertragbar, die nichts mit der Bekämpfung von Seeräubern zu tun haben.

The author discusses the causes, the special forms and the consequences of piracy in the coastal waters of Somalia. She debates the reasons for the decision of the European Union to launch a military operation against piracy. In spite of the fact that the German constitution prohibits the use of armed forces for the prevention of criminal acts German naval forces are taking part in the European military operation "Atalanta". Adapted from the source document.