EU foreign ministers gave a
"substantive" green light to Italy, France and Germany's
proposed new European mission in the Red Sea to protect shipping
from Iranian backed Houthi rebels in Yemen, and the definitive
OK should hopefully come at the next EU Foreign Affairs Council,
Deputy Premier and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said after
the three countries presented the plan to their EU counterparts
on Monday.
"We are proposing together with France and Germany a mission
that can guarantee the safety of maritime traffic," he told
reporters after the meeting in Brussels.
"I hope that we can already definitively approve the mission in
the next Foreign Affairs Council after a substantive go-ahead in
today's meeting".
Tajani added that for Italy the mission in the Red Sea "may also
include" the Emasoh/Agenor mission in the Strait of Hormuz.
The new mission is a step towards true European defence, Tajani
added.
The European military mission in the Red Sea that Rome is
promoting with Paris and Berlin represents "a considerable step
towards a true European defence," he said.
"Italy is ready to do its part".
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