Spain is not ready to join the European mission in the Red Sea

Spain is not ready to join a possible European Union (EU) mission in the Red Sea, Defense Minister Margarita Robles said this Friday.

The EU proposal for the mission comes before Thursday’s attack by US and British forces on Houthi rebel targets in Yemen.

“We do not condemn the actions of other countries,” Margarita Robles said this Friday, before adding that Spain’s position on the Red Sea and Houthi attacks on boats in the area “has always been very clear.”

“We support world peace and have said from the very beginning that we will not participate in the Red Sea because we are firmly committed to other missions,” he said in response to questions from reporters in Madrid.

Insisting that Spain is committed to peace, the minister said Madrid “evaluates and decides” which international missions it is participating in, and is currently involved in 17 NATO, EU and UN operations. nations, including the Indian Ocean operation against piracy, which “proved to be very difficult.”

Spain has already refused to participate in the US-led international coalition mission in the Red Sea due to Houthi attacks in the region.

Unlike Spain, Germany confirmed this Friday its willingness to participate in the European mission to protect commercial transport in the Red Sea from attacks by Yemen’s Houthi rebels.

“We are ready to participate,” German Foreign Ministry spokesman Sebastian Fischer said at a press conference in Berlin.

Starting next week, this issue will be discussed for the first time at the level of the European Union (EU), a representative of German diplomacy said.

According to a document from the European External Action Service (EEAS, the EU’s diplomatic service), published by various media, plans being discussed in Brussels include sending at least three warships to protect cargo ships from possible attacks.

The new mission, which could be based in the area between the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf, could begin operations at the end of next month.

Instead of expanding the Atalanta anti-piracy mission – due to Spanish resistance – a new mission is now being considered based on the current Agenor surveillance mission, which currently involves nine European states (Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece , Italy, the Netherlands, Norway and Portugal).

The US and UK on Thursday night launched several attacks against Yemen’s Houthi rebels, who have launched operations against several cargo ships (Israeli or Israeli-linked) in recent months in retaliation for the war in the Gaza Strip, leading to nearly 20 shipping companies redirecting their ships bypassing the Red Sea.