The Netherlands is prepared to take command of the new European Union mission which will fight piracy off the Somali coast, reports Tuesday’s Volkskrant.

Mission Atlanta is due to start next month and the Dutch have offered to take over leadership in August next year.
The offer was made at a meeting of EU foreign and defence ministers on Monday in Brussels but the Dutch government still has to agree to the move, defence minister Eimert van Middelkoop told the paper.
Pieter Bindt, commander of the Dutch maritime forces, would head the mission from the Dutch frigate Evertsen which has already been on patrol along the 3,000 kilometre coastline of Somalia.
Exact mandate
Van Middelkoop told the paper that he still needs to know the exact mandate of the mission and whether this would involve escorting food deliveries or active fighting.
He added that the mission would be unable to fight off all pirates operating in the area.
The combined EU fleet, which will consist of up to 10 ships with air cover, will be the EU’s first maritime mission.
The UN is currently protecting food transports in the region.