Italy, France and Greece aspire to lead the EU mission in the Red Sea

Italy, France and Greece are seeking to lead the new EU mission in the Red Sea to protect European ships from attacks by Yemen's Houthis.

The three countries also aspire to host the headquarters of Aspides, the mission proposed by the Union's External Action Service in one of the crucial sea lanes in the world, in which Spain has refused to participate.

This Wednesday, the Defense Ministers of the Member States will decide in Brussels which partner will lead the delicate mission, in which at least seven countries will participate with personnel and equipment (from ships to aerial surveillance or technical means) and which will collaborate with Guardian of the Prosperity, created by the United States—with which it would share secret information—and with other allies.

But it would be independent and only for protection and not attack.

The Houthis, allies of Iran, have assured that they will continue attacks until Israel ends the offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Brussels proposed to the Member States the creation of the new Aspides mission, for which it requires three frigates, as EL PAÍS announced, given the increase in attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea that transport goods to the EU.

The proposal, outlined after Spain rejected that the anti-piracy mission it leads, Atalanta, would also deal with the protection of the Red Sea, came just before the first attacks by the US and the United Kingdom against Houthi targets.

The EU hopes for the mission to be underway by mid-February, as explained by the EU High Representative for Foreign Policy and Security, Josep Borrell, in Brussels.

The head of European diplomacy hopes that countries that do not participate in the mission will not block it.

“Not all Member States are willing to participate, but no one will obstruct,” he said.

"That is what I expect;

Those who do not want to participate just have to step aside,” he added upon arriving at the meeting with the EU Defense Ministers.

Borrell has assured that numerous European companies have demanded the creation of Aspides (Protection) because they are being affected by the increase in costs derived from the attacks in the Red Sea.

“It is affecting costs, so it affects prices and inflation.

It is a natural effort for us to try to avoid that risk,” Borrell remarked.

France, Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Greece and Denmark have shown themselves willing to contribute material (ships and also aerial surveillance and technical means) and personnel to the mission, says a community source.

“The important thing is to have the means to carry out the mission, not only for the launch, but to maintain Aspides over time,” says the source.

The new mission could cost about 5.1 million euros per year and may be modeled on the Agenor mission, led by France in the Strait of Hormuz and with headquarters in Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates).

At the end of December, Spain rejected the assignment to the Atalanta mission—created in 2008 to fight piracy off the coast of Somalia and which has only one ship, the Spanish frigate

Victoria—

with the task of patrolling the area to support the American mission.

This sparked some tensions with Washington.

Spain then demanded a European mission.

The Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Defense have disagreed about Spain's participation, but the Government of Pedro Sánchez has leaned towards the Defense position, with Minister Margarita Robles at the helm, by refusing to participate for the moment in one of the missions. most committed in the EU.

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