The European Union has reached a political agreement in principle to launch a military operation to secure merchant shipping in the Red Sea, its top diplomat announced on Monday.
The EU has no plans to participate in the current US attacks against the positions of the militant Islamist Houthi movement in Yemen, it said. The United States together with the United Kingdom and others have attacked Houthi targets in the region.
The EU mission would involve deploying European warships and airborne early warning systems to protect cargo ships in the area.
EU foreign ministers agreed to the plan after a meeting in Brussels, the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell said.
According to diplomats, the mission would ideally start next month and put an end to the attacks by the Houthis.
The Iranian-backed militant group has said it is attacking ships related to Israel, but in fact many non-Israeli ships have been targets. The Houthis have said they are firing on ships to force an Israeli ceasefire in Gaza.
Israel attacked Gaza after the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas and others invaded Israel in October 7, killing about 1,200 and taking around 250 hostage.
On Monday, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock called for the preparations for the planned EU military mission to be finalized quickly. The indiscriminate attacks by the Houthis were also attacking "one of the central arteries of free shipping and therefore also of world trade."
The German economy is heavily dependent on exports.
In view of the dangers, major shipping companies are increasingly avoiding the shortest sea route between Asia and Europe through the Red Sea and the Suez Canal. This is now having a considerable impact on the global economy.
Originally, the EU had planned to simply extend the mandate of the existing Atalanta anti-piracy operation in the Indian Ocean for the mission in the Red Sea.
The plan failed due to opposition from Spain, which is currently the lead nation in Operation Atalanta. Left-wingers in Spain in particular sympathize with the desire to persuade Israel to halt its military operations in the Gaza Strip.
Also discussed at the meeting was an EU plan for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, with Borrell arguing that this should be the bloc's priority.
"I think that we have to stop talking about the peace, the peace process, and start talking more concretely about the two-state solution process," he said on arrival in Brussels.
According to a senior diplomat from the EU's External Action Service, the bloc's diplomatic service, this proposal would be coupled simultaneously with security guarantees for Israel.
A political framework for the Palestinian people could also influence the current war between Hamas and Israel. The aim must be for Israel to be able to have completely normal relations with the Arab countries, the diplomat said.
The EU's foreign policy chief proposed a peace conference initiative, which could include top-level talks without the Palestinians and Israelis as a first step.
But several participants at the ministerial meeting deemed the Borrell proposal unpromising.
"There is no value in us organizing peace conferences again if no one is there and or everyone and then Israel feels they are on trial," said Luxembourg's Foreign Minister Xavier Bettel.
According to EU diplomats, a more restrained approach could involve first pressing for further ceasefires.
Germany's Baerbock gave her backing to the two-state solution, stressing that "there can only be peace if there is peace for all people in the region."
"Israel can only live in security if Palestinians can live in dignity in security. And Palestinians can only live in dignity, security and freedom if Israel lives in security," she said.
Doubts surround the viability of the long-sought two-state solution however after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu again forcefully rejected the notion of a sovereign Palestinian state.
"I will not compromise on full Israeli security control over the entire area west of the Jordan [River] - and this is contrary to a Palestinian state," Netanyahu said at the weekend.
Irish Foreign Minister Micheál Martin criticized the Israeli leader's comments as "unacceptable and do not contribute in any way to the prospects of peace."
Jordanian Foreign Minister Amyan al-Safadi said Israel's rejection of a two-state policy was "dooming the future of the region to more conflict and more war."
He was invited to the talks in Brussels, as were his counterparts from Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the secretary general of the Arab League. There were also separate rounds of talks with Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz and the foreign minister of the Palestinian Authority, Riyad al-Maliki.
However, it is questionable whether the increasing pressure on Israel will have any effect. Israel's Katz initially did not comment publicly on the issue on Monday.
A majority of Israelis are against a two-state solution. Many fear this could result in rockets being fired from the West Bank at Israeli towns and villages.
Furthermore, some argue that an independent state after the unprecedented massacre on October 7 would be tantamount to a reward.
