Indicators and objectives of the European Naval Mission "Aspides" to protect the Red Sea | MENA Research |

On February 19, 2024, the European Union launched the Aspides naval force, a new maritime mission organized to address the increasing instability in the Red Sea and complement ongoing operations led by the United States. This launch followed the escalation of Houthi attacks on global shipping amidst the war in the Gaza Strip.

Why Europe decided to participate in the security mission

Freedom of navigation has long been a priority for the European Union. With increasing disputes over key checkpoints and essential maritime routes, the EU designated the northwest Indian Ocean as a "maritime area of importance" in 2022, covering a vast expanse from the Strait of Hormuz to the Tropic of Capricorn and from the Red Sea towards the central Indian Ocean. This necessitated increased European maritime coordination through a mechanism known as the "Coordinated Maritime Presence" (CMP).

This aligns with the EU's sustained interest in the northwest Indian Ocean since the beginning of its maritime integration efforts. In 2008, amidst rising threats and instability in the Horn of Africa, the EU launched Operation Atalanta, a naval mission with a current mandate to combat piracy, drug and arms trafficking, and protect World Food Programme shipments and other vulnerable shipping operations.

In the Arabian Gulf Persian Gulf, France led eight other European countries (Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, and Portugal) in launching a dedicated maritime surveillance mission in 2020 aimed at ensuring safe passage in the Strait of Hormuz. This initiative, headquartered at the French naval base in Abu Dhabi, includes a diplomatic track (EMASoH) and a military track (Operation Agenor).

• Implantation Militaire Française aux Émirats Arabes Unis (IMFEAU)

Paris has sought a more active role in regional maritime security since the "Tanker War" of the 1980s when it independently deployed a carrier strike group to the Gulf, making its leadership in EMASoH/Agenor and other initiatives significant.

Concerned about the economic repercussions of ongoing instability, some EU member states initially supported Operation Prosperity Guardian, sending a Greek frigate to the Red Sea together with Dutch and Danish staff officers. However, some early European supporters withdrew from the U.S.-led task force once the EU established its own security mechanism, Operation Aspides. A major reason driving Brussels to design a qualitatively different response, emphasizing restraint while ensuring strong defensive guarantees, was the concern that escalating U.S.-led air raids in Yemen could lead to a broader regional war.

According to the EU's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, Operation Aspides is based on a purely defensive stance. Grounded in United Nations Security Council Resolution 2722, which calls for a complete halt to Houthi attacks and affirms the right of ships to self-defense against imminent threats, the mission's mandate revolves around three core de-escalation tasks. First, it provides close protection for commercial vessels transiting the Bab el-Mandeb and Hormuz Straits. Second, it enhances maritime situational awareness in and around the Red Sea by providing military and civilian vessels with an accurate understanding of activities that could affect security, safety, economy, or the environment. Third, it conducts defensive kinetic actions against diverse threats to freedom of navigation.