The European Union is examining additional support for Yemen’s government as requests for Red Sea ship escorts exceed available vessels amid escalating Houthi attacks, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said Oct. 20.
Kallas told the European Parliament that more than 22 million people in Yemen need assistance. The EU has provided €85 million in humanitarian aid this year and mobilized another €2.5 million in emergency funding since September.
The bloc also signed a €9 million agreement with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) for locally led recovery. It will provide €2.5 million more to the United Nations Verification and Inspection Mechanism for Yemen, Kallas said.
Yemen already had more than 5 million displaced people, and another 200,000 have left their homes since August, Kallas said. Marib authorities also reported missile fire toward Marib earlier this month, including eight ballistic missiles on Oct. 18.
Kallas called for the Houthis to rejoin United Nations-led mediation and pledged EU backing for renewed political talks. “Escalation will leave everyone worse off,” she said.
About one-fifth of EU trade passes through the Red Sea, Kallas said. Operation Aspides, the bloc’s naval mission, has escorted hundreds of commercial vessels since its launch, but lacks enough ships to meet all requests for protection. Kallas called on member states to send frigates they had pledged. She said the mission is intended to protect commercial shipping and European trade, not join the fighting.
The EU will continue supporting Yemen’s Coast Guard and maritime actors in the region, including Djibouti, to counter arms smuggling, Kallas said. An EU-Gulf Cooperation Council summit planned for Oct. 24 was postponed because attacks escalated. The European Parliament’s schedule lists an Oct. 22 vote on a resolution about the Houthi escalation.
