The European Union is launching the Aspides operation against the Houthis in the Red Sea

The ministers of foreign affairs of the European Union made a final decision to join the naval operation against the Yemeni Houthis. This means that warships of European countries will be sent to the Red Sea, where they will repel attacks by the Houthis on merchant ships and ensure the safety of shipping. The operation will take place under the code name Aspides – in ancient Greek this word means “shield”.

According to Euronews, Germany, France, Italy and Belgium have already expressed their agreement to send their fleet to the Red Sea. Greece will present a candidate for the chief of the operational staff, Italy – the commander of the fleet group, France – his deputy. The headquarters will be located in the Greek city of Larissa.

The head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, wrote on social networks that she welcomes the minister’s decision. “In addition to the response to the crisis, this is also a step towards a stronger presence of the EU at sea in order to protect European interests,” she clarified.

The European mission for the protection of shipping in the Red Sea was preliminarily approved on January 16. It was reported that the EU military will act in close coordination with the naval forces of the United States and Great Britain already present in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.

• The radical Islamic Houthi group “Ansar Allah” controls the northern part of Yemen, including part of the sea coast. The government created by them is not recognized by the vast majority of countries in the world, including Russia.
• At the end of last year, the Houthis announced that they were joining the war against Israel on the side of the Hamas group, recognized as a terrorist group in the United States and the European Union, and began to fire at commercial ships in the Red Sea. At the same time, dry cargoes and tankers that have nothing to do with Israel are being attacked.
• About 12% of all commercial shipping in the world, including about 30% of all container traffic, passes through the Red Sea and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. After the beginning of Houthi attacks on merchant ships, many shipping companies were forced to choose other routes, which significantly delayed and made transportation more expensive.