Following the wave of missile attacks by the Houthi rebels in Yemen, which have put the stability of the maritime traffic in the region, the European Union is considering sending three warships to the Red Sea to protect the merchant ships who navigate the area. This is what the head of European diplomacy proposes, Josep Borrell, in a document sent to the Twenty-Seven that the EU foreign ministers will discuss at the end of the month. Spain, as announced this Friday by the Minister of Defense Margaret Robleswill not participate in a possible European naval mission and will continue to focus on the Atalanta operation in the Indian Ocean.
“From the beginning we have said that in the Red Sea we understand that Spain is not going to participate at this moment. And it will not do so because it is firmly committed to other missions, in this case the Atalanta mission in the Indian Ocean to fight piracy, a mission that is being very demanding,” Robles explained, ruling out Spanish involvement and remembering that Spain is who “values and “decides” What missions does he participate in? Precisely, last December the Spanish Government rejected the possibility of extending the mandate of Operation Atalanta to expand its scope of action to the Red Sea and join the operation. ‘Guardians of Prosperity’led by the United States, with the aim of ensuring security in the area and in which France, Italy and the Netherlands do participate.
Given the continuous increase in tensions in the area, which has forced many shipowners to change their shipping route, diverting ships through the Cape of Good Hope with the consequent economic and commercial impact, the head of European diplomacy has returned to the load with a alternative proposal which has the specific objective of “intercepting various types of missiles and drones aimed directly at merchant ships, as well as preventing ships from being hijacked” so that the EU does not lose its credibility as a geopolitical actor.
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Borrell’s approach advocates creating a new maritime mission, with an initial duration of one year, involving at least three frigates that will be in charge of guiding the ships that face the greatest risk. As explained by the high representative for foreign policy during a recent conference in Lisbon, the objective of the mission will be “to escort and protect merchant ships that pass through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait”.
The plan has already been circulated among European capitals and will be analyzed this week by security and defense experts from the EU military committee before the debate that foreign ministers will have at the end of the month. The heads of European diplomacy will meet in Brussels on January 22 and again on February 2 and 3 in an informal council. Despite the urgency with which Borrell raises the proposal – this Thursday the United States has bombed Houthi military targets together with its allies – it is not clear that the Twenty-Seven can close the political agreement so soon so that the mission can be launched at the end of February.