New Head of European Union Capacity (EUCAP) Somalia takes up duties

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Mr. Kęstutis Lančinskas, the new Head of Mission of EUCAP Somalia, met with Mr. Stefano Tomat, Civilian Operations Commander and Managing Director of CPCC HQ prior to taking up duties in Somalia.

Mr. Lancinskas takes over the leadership of EUCAP Somalia from Mr. Kauko Aaltomaa with effect from 1 May.

Mr. Tomat thanked Mr. Aaltomaa for excellent service over the past two years and congratulated his successor Mr. Lančinskas. ‘The new Head of the Mission will continue to re-calibrate the EUCAP Somalia to support the Somali security architecture at the maritime security and land based police domains, including training of the Federal Darwish police forces’, - told the Civilian Operations Commander.

On 26 March 2024, the Council of the European Union appointed Kęstutis Lančinskas, a Lithuanian national, as the new Head of Mission (HoM) from 1 May to 31 December 2024. He served as an 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. In the CSDP context, he has also served as the head of mission of the EU Advisory Mission (EUAM) in Ukraine from January 2016 to June 2019.

The European Union Capacity Building Mission in Somalia (EUCAP Somalia) is a civilian crisis management mission that supports the development of Somali maritime security and wider police capacity. The Mission provides strategic level advice, mentoring, capacity building and training on issues ranging from coastguard functions to police-prosecution cooperation and law drafting. The mission’s budget for its mandate for years 2023-24 is EUR 81 million.

EUCAP Somalia Headquarter is based in Mogadishu with field offices in Somaliland and Puntland, and a back-office in Nairobi, Kenya.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of European Union External Action: The Diplomatic Service of the European Union.