The European Union on Monday launched its first-ever naval mission off the coast of Somalia to protect UN shipments and commercial vessels from pirates.

The naval force will be composed of at least seven ships and surveillance aircraft, contributed by eight to ten countries, including France, Germany, Spain, Greece and the Netherlands, with Spain, Portugal and Norway also likely to participate.

The mission, called Operation Atalanta, will be commanded by a British vice admiral and headquartered in Northwood, near London. British participation in the operation is unusual, considering the country’s lack of involvement in previous European military missions. Le Figaro, a French paper, hailed it as a first.

French Defense Minister Herve Morin commented on Britain’s role, saying, “It is a nice symbol that this operation be commanded by a British officer and from a British headquarters. It is a good symbol of the evolution in European defense and, I would say, of its coming of age.”

Operation Atalanta is a clear move toward a single European military and common defense policy—a trend that has been growing.

Just last month, German and French leaders called for Europe to commit to an EU army. French President Nicolas Sarkozy proposed establishing an army capable of deploying 60,000 troops with naval and air support within 60 days. Having navy operations under its belt will only help the EU accomplish its goal.

Another sign of greater European military cooperation is that on the same day EU defense ministers signed off on Operation Atalanta, 12 EU defense ministers pledged to support the European Air Transport Fleet (eatf). The eatf is meant to allow the EU to possess its own transportation fleet for both military and humanitarian missions worldwide by having members of the group provide planes for missions and resources to maintain the fleet.

Britain’s defense minister was notably not among the 12 who pledged support for the eatf. His absence belies Mr. Morin’s comments about Britain’s leadership role in Atalanta. Britain’s lack of involvement in the eatf project is a telling sign of how reluctant Britain is to participate in European military missions.

For years, the Trumpet has been telling readers that Britain will leave the EU. And while Britain’s lead role in Operation Atalanta may seem to contradict that assertion, Britain was in fact, as Mr. Morin admits, initially “a bit hesitant” when asked to head the mission. Morin further said that European naval cooperation was not “a great priority” for Britain.

Even in last month’s call for an EU army, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown voiced his opposition to the proposal, explaining that such an army would undermine nato.

Geoffrey Van Orden, Conservative member of the European Parliament and Tory defense spokesman in Europe, shared the same concern about Operation Atalanta. He would rather nato take on the anti-piracy operations on behalf of the United Nations.

Mr. Van Orden also questions the motives behind the mission, saying, “The EU is desperate to find military operations that it can stick its flag on in order to give credibility to its defense pretensions.” Statements like these highlight how EU and British interests and policies diverge.

Britain, seeking to defend nato’s primacy, has been reluctant to participate in European military missions. But in the recent Georgian crisis, nato proved to be ineffective in unifying against the threat. So Europe is looking to create a new defensive alliance independent of American interests. And as regular Trumpet readers would know, that alliance ultimately will not include Britain.

Watch Britain’s reluctance to jump on the European military bandwagon grow as the EU continues to make strides toward its goals.

To learn more about the future of Europe and Britain’s relationship with it, read our article “Europe to Britain: Let’s Part, Shall We?”