The European Union, unlike the US, will not label the Iran-aligned Houthi rebels of Yemen a “terrorist” organization, as they are already sanctioned, while this characterization is difficult to apply on a pan-European scale.

Yesterday, Wednesday, the US again added the Houthis to the list of international “terrorist” entities, because of their attacks in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.

The Houthis, who have recently launched dozens of attacks against commercial and warships in the Red Sea, are subject to EU and UN sanctions from 2022, a representative of the European External Action Service (EEAS) reminded yesterday.

These sanctions had been imposed due to Houthi attacks on merchant ships in the Red Sea, attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure, use of sexual violence as a weapon, and repression of politically active women, especially working women.

Sanctions in force are frozen all financial resources that the Houthis may have under EU jurisdiction and prohibit the sending of money to the organization.

Designating the rebels a “terrorist” organization would therefore be largely symbolic and would be comparatively difficult to implement across the EU, as it would require rulings in the national courts of each of the 27 member states.

The EU is planning a naval mission in the Red Sea to protect international shipping, separate from that of the coalition established by the US.