On 22 May, Greek and Libyan media reported that no renewal request for UNSC Resolution 2292 (2016) had been submitted to the UN Security Council (UNSC). It appears that UNSC members Greece and France, who previously drafted Resolution 2292 back in 2016, deliberately did not request its renewal.
Therefore, on 25 May at 00:00, the temporary six-month technical extension of the mandate granted by UNSC Resolution 2804 on 25 November 2025 expired. Nonetheless, the European Union (EU) has made clear that Operation EUNAVFOR MED IRINI will continue also after 25 May, based on an ongoing mandate by the Council of the European Union, which runs until 31 March 2027.
Before these contretemps played out, there was an extensive discussion within the relevant institutions of the European Union over separating the legal basis for the IRINI mission from any UN Mandate in order to bolster greater European strategic autonomy in security and defence matters and disentangle IRINI from possible Russian interference. Moving forward, this should allow IRINI to act against the Russian shadow fleet and to protect critical infrastructure in the Mediterranean, including pipelines and a submarine communications cable. Allegedly, there is not yet a full decision about a modification of the EU mandate for IRINI.