The EU Foreign Affairs Council has approved the launch of the naval military operation Aspides, of which Italy will have command of the forces.
Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani made this known: 'Italy is on the front line to protect mercantile interests and free navigation in the Red Sea.
It is an important step towards common European defence.'
Diplomatic sources have made it known that Italy will combine the impetus role it played from a political perspective for the launch of the Operation with an important operational role: it will offer the commander of the Force - Rear Admiral Costantino - and the headquarters of the Force, which will be installed on board a destroyer.
In particular, according to what we learn, the Carlo Duilio will host the headquarters of the new European mission.
The Navy destroyer, in fact, has already been in the area since the beginning of the month, since it carried out the handover with the frigate Federico Martinengo to ensure maritime surveillance and the protection of merchant ships in transit in the area.
The operational command of Aspides will instead be detached to the European headquarters in Larissa, Greece, while the strategic command will remain - as for all EU military missions and operations - in Brussels.
The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, welcomes the decision to launch the Aspides operation of the EU naval force: "Europe - she explains - will guarantee freedom of navigation in the Red Sea, working alongside our international partners. Beyond crisis response, this is a step towards a stronger European presence at sea to protect our European interests."
Commenting on the green light for the European mission, the Minister of Defense, Giulio Crosetto, spoke of "a necessary response to the hybrid war that the Houthis are carrying out in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, cutting the communication routes that feed numerous countries, including ours, impacting their economies and creating a competitive disadvantage for the West to the advantage of other nations, whose ships are not attacked."
"Europe, united, has approved the Aspides mission - clarified the Minister of Defense -, in response to the ongoing crisis in the Red Sea, which is undermining the economic stability of the old continent and of the West in general - continues Crosetto - The Defense, after the Italian parliament has approved it, will be able to provide its contribution and assume command of the operation on board, as requested by the European Union. Italy, aware of the strategic importance of the area, will play an important role also to facilitate the coordination of the mission with the Eunavfor Atalanta operation, of which we assumed tactical command last 8 February".
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