(Finance) – The EU High Representative, Josep Borrellat the end of the EU Council announced that an agreement had been reached “in principle” on the start of the EU mission In the Mar Red“. “Now we have to work towards unanimity on when.” An Italian Navy ship could also participate in the mission. There Martinengothe frigate currently engaged in the area to protect national merchant ships from Houthi attacks, from 8 February will instead be the command ship of another European operation, Atalanta, against piracy, which operates in nearby waters.
Details on the contribution of individual countries to the new mission – which will be incorporated into the operation Agenor in Strait of Hormuz, born on a French initiative – have yet to be defined. It will probably be discussed on 30 and 31 January in Brussels, where a meeting of EU defense ministers is scheduled.
Upon his arrival in Brussels, the Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Anthony Tajani, had declared that the Navy is ready to participate in the operations. Tajani specified that the mission will not include attacks on Yemeni territory but will focus only on safety of the mercantile. The European military mission in the Red Sea, which Rome is promoting with Paris and Berlin, represents “a considerable step towards a true European defense. Italy is ready to do its part” concluded the vice-president of the Council.
The Houthis meanwhile they claimed to have attacked one American merchant ship (the Ocean Jazz) in the Gulf of Aden using missiles. “The Yemeni armed forces continue to respond to any American or British aggression against our country by targeting all sources of threats in the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea,” said the spokesperson of the pro-Iranian movement, as reported by the Israeli newspaper Haaretz.