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Berlin aims to fight piracy on the high seas

DPA/The Local
DPA/The Local - [email protected]
Berlin aims to fight piracy on the high seas
'Aaaaaaaaaaargh!' Photo: DPA

The German government wants the country’s marine forces to fight international piracy.

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After recent pirate incidents off the coast of Somalia, leaders of the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the centre-left Social Democratic Party (SPD) want to set up a committee to explore how German naval forces can clean up the high seas, German daily Süddeutsche Zeitung reported on Friday.

The coalition work group will operate under the auspices of the Chancellery and make its suggestions before the government breaks for summer.

Members of the group told the paper that the current pirate situation is unacceptable.

Piracy is considered under the jurisdiction of the police, not the navy, which is why German forces were only able to act as emergency assistance during the recent pirate attacks near Somalia. German military forces are not authorized to take on police work according to the law, but the committee will explore a possible change to the laws to allow more effective anti-piracy operations.

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