Council renews EUBAM Rafah and EUPOL COPPS mandates until 30 June 2027

The Council renewed the mandates of two civilian EU Common Security and Defence Policy missions: EUBAM Rafah and EUPOL COPPS. The extension runs for nine months until 30 June 2027 and follows a coordinated strategic review by the European External Action Service, approved by the Political and Security Committee.

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The decision was taken on the basis of letters provided by the Palestinian Authority and Israel. It comes after a technical extension adopted on 29 June 2026 that prolonged the mandates of both missions until 30 September 2026.

EUBAM Rafah was launched in November 2005 as a civilian, non-executive mission at the Rafah Crossing Point between the Gaza Strip and Egypt. Its stated role is to advise and provide technical assistance to Palestinian border personnel, maintain a third-party presence at the crossing point, and build confidence between the Government of Israel and the Palestinian Authority.

The mission was placed on hold in 2007 after Hamas took over the Gaza Strip, then redeployed in January 2025 and again in February 2026. According to the source, those redeployments enabled the opening of the Rafah Crossing Point for more than 13 thousand travellers up to now.

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Since 2023, EUBAM Rafah has been headed by Nataliya Apostolova. EUPOL COPPS was launched in January 2006 and now focuses on supporting the Palestinian Civil Police and wider justice institutions, mainly in the West Bank.

The mission works on civil policing and criminal justice arrangements and says it supports security and justice sector reform, efforts to improve Palestinian security, and reinforcement of the rule of law. Since 1 July 2026, the mission has been headed by Felix Andåker.

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