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A. Keywords.
European Union, warships, planes, Somalia, operation.
Vocabulary.
surveillance, deter, vis-a-vis, ransom, infested.
You're going to hear a report on an EU mission. Supply the missing information.The European Union are sending 6 warships and 3 surveillance planes to tackle a massive problem,
piracy off Somalia's waters that has resulted in almost a hundred ships being attacked this year alone.
The ships take over from NATO vessels, now trying to maintain security more than 1.5 million square kilometers.
EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana recently outlined the tasks facing the new mission.
"It will be a very solid operation. It will have robust rules of engagement.
The objective would be to deter, to prevent, to protect, and in particular to protect the United Nations humanitarian component in those waters vis-a-vis Somalia.
The EU mission will be headquartered near London, and last for at least a year.
Vessels from at least eight European countries will escort aid ships and conduct anti-piracy operations.
Somalia pirates are holding about 16 ships and more than 350 crew off their country's coast.
They generally ask for huge ransoms in exchange for the vessels' release.
Besides the European Union and NATO operations, private companies are also offering escort services through the pirate-infested Gulf of Aden, one of the world's busiest shipping routes.
