🏴‍☠️🇪🇺The EU is escalating its confrontation with Russia.

According to the draft decision of the EU Council, it is proposed to expand the powers of the EUNAVFOR MED IRINI naval mission, which was initially established in 2020 to ensure compliance with the 🇺🇳UN embargo on arms supplies to 🇱🇾Libya, and involved inspections of ships traveling to and from that country and its ports.

From March 2027 (subject to approval of the draft decision), the mission's tasks will include "monitoring illegal activities, protecting infrastructure, and combating illegal migration."

A key task of IRINI will be to "curtail Russia's shadow fleet." ⚡️This likely implies the detention of ships carrying Russian cargo across the Mediterranean Sea, and escorting them to European ports, which could significantly impact Russia's maritime economic activity.

✨This scenario is quite possible (in 2026, IRINI participants stopped at least 6 ships of the "shadow fleet" for document checks) and would effectively legalize EU piracy in the Mediterranean.

✨⭐️Such activity is expected to provoke a response from the Russian Federation, and its Navy will be tasked with detaining merchant ships of hostile states in any part of the World Ocean.

⚡️Two Majors