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EU against any extension of mandate of TFI''s in Somalia

BRUSSELS, May 14 (KUNA) -- With only three months to go to the end of the political transition in Somalia, the European Union (EU) Monday called on the Somali leadership to seize this opportunity and to implement their commitments to ensure that the 20 August deadline is met.
"The EU rejects any further extension of the mandate of the Transitional Federal Institutions (TFIs) in line with the outcome of the International Conference on Somalia in London on 23 February 2012," said the EU Foreign Affairs Council in a statement.
The EU looks forward to the Istanbul Conference on 31 May-1 June and to the International Contact Group meeting in Rome on 2-3 July on Somalia as important meetings in assessing progress before the end of the transition, noted the statement.
It said that te new EU mission EUCAP NESTOR will assist states in the Horn of Africa and the Western Indian Ocean, including Somalia, to develop a self-sustainable capacity to enhance their maritime security and governance, including judicial capacities. The mandate of the EU naval operation EUNAVFOR ATALANTA off Somalia has been extended until December 2014, added the statement. (end) nk.mt KUNA 141525 May 12NNNN