THEOperation Commander by EUNAVFORMED IRINI, admiral Fabio Agostini, welcomed the appointment by the Council of the European Union of the Italian admiral Ettore Socci, as Force Commander (commander at sea) of the Operation, until 18 October 2020. Subsequently, the assignment will pass to the Greek commodore Theodoros Mikropoulos until 31 March 2021.
Admiral Socci has already held the position of Force Commander of Operation SOPHIA since June 2019. He served as an officer on board several Navy ships, operating in the Mediterranean Sea, the Persian Gulf, the Atlantic and the Indian Ocean.
Commodore Theodoros Mikropoulos was the commander of the Hellenic naval base in Souda (Crete) and previously held positions of responsibility in the Hellenic Navy.
background
On March 31, 2020, the Council of the European Union launched Operation IRINI with the main task of enforcing the arms embargo on Libya under the UN Security Council resolutions. The Operation will also have the secondary tasks of monitoring illegal oil trafficking from Libya, monitoring illicit activities related to human trafficking and will contribute to the formation of the Libyan Coast and Marine Guard.
The commander of the European Operation is Admiral Fabio Agostini who exercises his functions from the headquarters located in Rome in the headquarters of the Centocelle Joint Force Operations Center.
The mission will be able to count on Naval and air units made available by the Member States and by satellite support guaranteed by the European Satellite Center (SatCen).
Participating countries
The following countries will initially make operational assets available for the Operation: France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg and Poland.
The personnel who will be employed within the mission staff come from the following countries: Austria, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Croatia, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Czech Republic, Romania, Slovenia, Sweden, Hungary.
