EU and NATO leaders meet, discuss piracy

BRUSSELS, Nov. 24 (UPI) -- Top officials from NATO and the European Union met Monday to discuss the ongoing efforts in the Gulf of Aden to combat piracy threats.

Officials from NATO's North Atlantic Council met with the EU's Security Committee Monday to discuss the EU's future deployment of naval ships to the Somali coastal region and future cooperation efforts with North Atlantic Treaty Organization ships already operating in the Gulf of Aden, NATO reported.

The EU is expected to deploy a unit of ships to Somali coastal waters as part of an international effort to counter an escalating threat of piracy in the region. Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, NATO secretary-general, said NATO is currently evaluating long-term operational requirements of the increasingly fragile security in the region.

"NATO is looking at its longer-term responsibilities in the framework of piracy," Scheffer said in a statement.

"In December, the EU mission will start. I don't exclude there will be work for NATO as well."