EU struggles to ramp up Red Sea mission as Houthis escalate attacks

The EU and Italy are pushing member states to bolster the Aspides naval mission in the Red Sea, but only two more warships have been pledged, exposing Europe’s thin defence capabilities as the Houthis threaten energy supply routes.

The EU’s Red Sea naval mission is struggling to attract reinforcements, with only the Netherlands and Belgium offering one extra vessel each, while the Houthis escalate their attacks on Riyadh.

Italy has been driving the push to bolster Aspides, the EU naval operation launched in February 2024 to secure navigation in the Red Sea. But little extra capacity has materialised, and the security situation has worsened.

“We need at least ten ships, and we are not there. But today we also heard from a few member states that the discussion is ongoing,” EU top diplomat Kaja Kallas said at a press conference after the Foreign Affairs Council on Monday.

“So I hope that the ships the operation actually needs will materialise, because if we want to be a credible security provider in the region, then we need to have a credible mission,” she added.

On 19 September, Kallas sent a letter to European capitals asking member states for additional naval and air assets to strengthen the EU’s presence in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a critical chokepoint for energy supply.

The initiative followed an Italian request, after an Italian frigate had to escort an Italian merchant vessel off Yemen’s coast. Since it became operational, Aspides has escorted hundreds of vessels in the Red Sea.

In recent days, the Houthis, a Yemeni armed group backed by Iran, have launched a series of strikes on Saudi Arabia, hitting Riyadh’s international airport and causing a total of 14 deaths and more than 300 injuries.

The mission was set up after the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war and a surge in attacks on merchant vessels. In the past weeks, the situation in Yemen has further deteriorated, threatening vital international trade routes.

Earlier this month, Italian Defence Minister Guido Crosetto told the UAE-based outlet The National that Rome was willing to increase its contribution, but only once other EU countries showed the same commitment.

“Given that the crisis that first emerged in Hormuz and now in Bab Al Mandeb is creating major difficulties for European economies, and therefore for European citizens, I believe Europe should play a much greater role than it has so far in trying to bring about peace,” Crosetto said.

Italy, which depends heavily on Middle Eastern energy, has provided significant military support to Gulf countries, sending air-defence and radar systems to Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait in response to Iran’s airstrikes.

Italy and Greece supply the mission’s three core ships, while Germany, France, Spain, the Netherlands and Belgium contribute with vessels that drop in and out on a rotation basis, meaning that the number of operational warships constantly changes.

The Hague has committed to adding a frigate, but only in an associate role focused on awareness and information gathering. Belgium will add one of its two frigates, the Leopold I, but the warship is facing technical problems and is not expected to join the mission until next year.

Other member states have preferred to keep their ships in the Baltic and Black Seas, hotspots for Russia’s hybrid attacks, a sign of how thinly the EU’s defence capabilities are stretched.

According to the Annual Defence Readiness Report 2026, a confidential assessment of the bloc’s military needs seen by Euronews, maritime capabilities face critical gaps that current investments are expected to fill only after 2030.

“I welcome the addition of ships recently offered by the member states, but it’s also clear that we need more to keep the Red Sea open. It’s in Europe’s strategic interest,” Kallas said.

Source: www.euronews.com