The EU agrees to create a mission to protect the merchant fleet in the Red Sea

From mid-December 2023, the European Union (EU) sought to launch a naval mission to protect merchant shipping from attacks by Houthi rebels in the Red Sea, off the coast of Yemen, through which 70% of imports pass. Asia. The initiative will complement Operation Prosperity Guard, a US-led anti-Houthi coalition.

On Monday 22 January, twenty-seven EU foreign ministers are expected to reach an agreement in principle to create such a body. Three European ships would thus be mobilized to protect merchant navigation. They can shoot down drones and missiles that threaten Western cargo ships allegedly linked to Israel by Yemeni rebels who say they are acting in support of Palestinians in Gaza.

On the other hand, warn several ambassadors in Brussels, “There is no talk of following the US and the UK in bombing the Houthis in Yemen.”. Since January 12, US and British forces have repeatedly targeted military positions of Houthi forces backed by Iran.

On Friday, the US carried out more strikes against “Houthi Anti-Ship Missile Ready to Launch Targeting Gulf of Aden”US Military Command in the Middle East (CENTCOM) said in a statement. “U.S. forces determined that the missile posed a threat to U.S. merchant and naval vessels in the area and subsequently engaged and destroyed the missile.”Centcom added, describing it as an act of action“defense”.

“Defense of Israel” is not the mission

Indeed, if the Europeans wished to preserve freedom of movement, the Red Sea being one of the quickest routes from Asia to Europe, they had no doubt that this task would be considered a task. “Defense of Israel”, recalled an ambassador in Brussels. And if the EU has taken so long to find a compromise, it is because of the nature of the move.

“The month of December [2023]The idea was to expand Atalanta, an existing European naval force that fights piracy in the Red Sea and Indian Ocean.A European ambassador recalled. But host Spain blocked the plan. » Backed by Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, the far-left Sumer Party, particularly hostile to US policy in the Middle East, has weighed in to avoid any participation seen as pro-Israel.

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