EU Mulls Potential Joint Naval Mission In Red Sea Amid Houthi Attacks

By Alexandra Brzozowski

(EurActiv) — EU countries are expected to discuss a potential new naval operation that would aim to re-establish security and freedom of navigation in the Red Sea, as Yemen’s Houthis continue to attack ships in the vital international trade route.

EU ambassadors are scheduled to discuss details of the proposal by the EU’s diplomatic service EEAS next Tuesday (16 January) in the bloc’s Political and Security Committee (PSC), according to several EU diplomats.

This comes as Western allies and regional partners are gearing up to protect Red Sea shipping from Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels, who have in recent weeks launched attacks on vessels on the international trade route in response to Israel’s bombardments of Hamas militants in Gaza.

They are, however, struggling to balance their determination to deter further aggression against the risk of sparking a wider war in the Middle East.

The proposal suggests creating “a new EU operation” that would “act in a broader area of operation, from the Red Sea to the Gulf”.

While the size, scope, and composition of any new EU mission remain unclear, it would include “at least three anti-air destroyers or frigates with multi-mission capabilities for at least one year”, according to the proposal.

The push pre-dates the US and British strikes on rebel-held positions in Yemen early on Friday (12 January), but the sense of urgency was increased by the rerouting of ships away from the Red Sea and warnings of significant disruptions to the global supply chains.

According to EU diplomats, the bloc could finalise the plans by 22 January, when its foreign ministers are expected to meet in Brussels, with the aim to launch the operation as soon as the end of February.

The European push – in the works for the past few weeks – comes after the US launched Operation Prosperity Guardian in December, an operation composed of an ad-hoc coalition of nearly 20 partner countries.

One option for the EU effort would be to potentially seek to complement the US-led coalition, which already includes numerous countries from the bloc.

Another would be for the new mission to be built upon Agenor, a French-led joint surveillance operation covering the entire Gulf, the Strait of Hormuz, and part of the Arabian Sea, conducted in the framework of an umbrella mission dubbed European Maritime Awareness in the Strait of Hormuz (EMASoH).

Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, and Portugal are currently taking part.

Last year, the EU initially explored the possibility of using its anti-pirate mission, Atalanta, which operates in the Indian Ocean and protects shipping off Somalia. Spain, however, opposed the idea, while saying that it was open to a new mission.

Defence Minister Margarita Robles said on Friday (12 January) that “Spain’s position on this subject has always been clear” and Madrid would not take part in any EU naval mission in the Red Sea.

“From the beginning, we have said that in the Red Sea, Spain at this moment is not going to participate, because it is firmly committed to other missions, in this case, the Atalanta mission in the Indian Ocean (…), a mission that is being very demanding,” Robles said.

While Madrid gave no official reason, Spanish media reported that domestic politics was behind the refusal, with a hard-left partner in Spain’s governing coalition, the Sumar party, generally opposed to US foreign policy.

There is a “general interest” from other EU member states already involved in the region, especially the “free traders”, one EU diplomat told Euractiv.

A second EU diplomat explained that “a deployment by the end of February is ambitious given the short period of time, but might be a realistic timeline.”

“Much will depend on whether every member states will be willing to proceed fast,” a third EU diplomat added.