The European Union does not have its own army, but it sends soldiers throughout the world to maintain peace and help populations under threat from conflict or natural disaster.
Bringing Somali pirates to justice is one way MEPs hope to stop hijacking in th Gulf of Aden, and MEPs showed their support for jailed Nobel laureate Liu Xiaobo.
Will a permanent court stem the tide of piracy off the Gulf of Aden? MEPs are looking into ways of solving the problem affecting one of the world's busiest maritime trade route.