Within the week, discussions begin among member states on the creation of a special EU security mission in the Red Sea, over increasing missile attacks by Yemen’s Shia Houthi rebels against merchant ships. This was stated today from Brussels by the representative of the Commission, responsible for foreign policy matters, Peter Stano.

Discussions will begin on the basis of a proposal he will submit the European External Action Service (EEAS) and EU High Representative, Josep Borrell, as Borel himself had announced last week from Lisbon. As Peter Stano explained, this new EU mission in the Red Sea will be a completely new process and will not be based on the already existing European naval operation “ATALANTA” (“Atalanti”) which was created years ago for security in Red Sea and to western Indian Ocean and which was intended to tackle piracy off the coast of Somalia.

“The coordination process and discussions with the member states about the new mission announced by the EU High Representative are starting this week. We are at the beginning of the process. In the end it is up to the member states to agree on what will be the form, the mandate and the means of such a mission”, said the representative of the Commission. The goal is a joint EU mission and it is up to the 27 member states to decide ‘if this is a good idea’, if they agree and how they see the EU’s role in dealing with the current situation in the Red Sea,” added Peter Stano. He also recalled that so far there are a number of EU member states already participating in the US-led operation “Prosperity Guardian” in the Red Sea.

“It is obvious that the EU has an interest in restoring safe navigation and maritime security in the Red Sea region which is a very important area for trade,” said the same representative of the Commission afterwards. Finally, he recalled that “the EU has been very clear in its condemnation of the Houthi attacks against commercial ships. These are unacceptable violations of international law that pose a threat to maritime safety and navigation and must be stopped.”

Regarding Iran’s actions in the region, Peter Stano emphasized that the EU High Representative as well as some EU foreign ministers have sent strong messages to Iran about the risk of regional escalation in the Middle East and the Red Sea. “The message is very clear from the EU. We must do everything to prevent further escalation. The actions of the Houthis must stop immediately. Everyone who has any kind of influence on the Houthis must contribute to this,” the Commission spokesman said.