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If agreed, the European operation could possibly be launched in February, Euractiv reported
The EU is contemplating sending a naval mission to the Pink Sea to guard key transport routes from assaults by Houthi militants in Yemen, the bloc’s diplomats have instructed Euractiv.
EU ambassadors are anticipated to debate the related proposal, coming from the European Exterior Motion Service (EEAS), on Tuesday, the outlet mentioned in an article on Friday.
The initiative by the bloc’s diplomatic service predates the airstrikes towards Houthi targets by the US and UK, which had been carried out on Friday and Saturday, it pressured.
Since mid-October, the Houthis have launched a number of drones and missiles focusing on Israeli-bound business vessels off Yemen’s coast, disrupting transport alongside the important thing routes within the Pink Sea and the Gulf of Aden. The group mentioned it’s finishing up the assaults in assist of Gaza amid the Israeli army operation towards the Hamas armed group within the Palestinian enclave.
The proposal by EEAS, which Euractiv noticed, means that “a brand new EU operation” would “act in a broader space of operation, from the Pink Sea to the Gulf.”
Up to now, there’s no readability concerning the mission’s scope and composition. Nonetheless, the doc means that it ought to embrace “at the very least three anti-air destroyers or frigates with multi-mission capabilities for at the very least one yr.”
Unnamed EU diplomats instructed the outlet that the plans could possibly be finalized by January 22, when the bloc’s overseas ministers are scheduled to carry a summit in Brussels. The naval mission itself could be launched already by the tip of February, they added.
One of many sources pressured that “a deployment by the tip of February is bold given the brief interval, however could be a practical timeline.”
One other diplomat mentioned that there’s “common curiosity” within the Pink Sea operation from EU member states already concerned within the area.
Euractiv advised that the EU naval mission would possibly complement the US-led Operation Prosperity Guardian, which had been launched by Washington final month to guard the ships from Houthi assaults and contains a number of European nations.
An alternative choice is to heart the potential EU operation round Agenor, a French-led joint surveillance mission within the Persian Gulf, the Strait of Hormuz, and a part of the Arabian Sea. Such nations as Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, and Portugal are already participating in it, the outlet mentioned.
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