Naval Mission in Red Sea: Italy, France, Germany at Forefront

The European Union is about to launch military action in the Red Sea with defensive purpose, but defined as “strong and armed.” The aim is to protect the commercial traffic in the area, which is threatened by Houthi attacks.

The leaders of this operation are Italy, France, and Germany, which intend to patrol and control a large stretch of sea that runs from the Red Sea, passes through the Gulf of Aden, extends to the south of the Arabian Peninsula, and reaches the Strait of Hormuz, at the mouth of the Persian Gulf, between the United Arab Emirates and Iran.

On Monday, January 22, the proposal will be discussed at the EU Foreign Affairs Council, along with the crisis in the Middle East, from Israel to the Red Sea, as well as the situation in Ukraine. However, the final decision, according to Italian news agency ANSA, will not be made until the meeting of foreign ministers scheduled for February 19.

The mission will be called “Aspis,” which means “shield” in ancient Greek. It was born out of the need to protect a crucial European commercial transportation route, namely the one that connects Asia and the Old Continent, through the Red Sea and the Suez Canal, the route that has been threatened for months by attacks from Yemen’s rebel Houthi group. Tensions in the area have caused, initially, most container ships and, more recently, oil tankers and liquefied gas carriers to change the traditional route through the Red Sea to bypass Africa, around the Cape of Good Hope, a route longer by more than a third, consequently entailing additional costs, and potentially calling into question the importance of the Mediterranean.

In any case, the economic impact is already tangible: 20% of goods pass through Suez globally, and maritime traffic in the area has fallen by 90%, according to the Italian trade association Coldiretti. Italy’s $5.5 billion in agri-food exports to Asia will be at risk.

The governments of Berlin, Paris, and Rome seem united in supporting this mission, which would complement the Emasoh Agenor mission promoted by France that has been patrolling the Strait of Hormuz since 2020. The new mission, according to what follows from a document sent by the three EU countries to Brussels, will complement Agenor, resulting in “a broad level of cooperation and coordination with Arab regional states and the Horn of Africa.” Coordination with the Prosperity Guardian mission, deployed against the Houthis by the US and UK, will also be envisaged, even if a “defensive” objective is emphasized in the case of future European action.

Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani stressed that “Aspis is not just an international police mission, but a very important political signal to the EU: we are moving towards a common European defense, which is a really necessary part of a common foreign policy.”