For years, European leaders have recognised that ‘in a world of carnivores, vegetarians have a very tough time of it,’ as Germany’s former Foreign Minister Siegmar Gabriel put it in 2018. Six years later, as a handful of well-armed Houthi pirates all but shut down maritime trade on the Red Sea, Europe is finding itself to be a vulnerable vegetarian once again.

To prevent the Houthis blocking trade through the Suez canal, ‘Operation Prosperity Guardian’ was launched in December. Although it is ostensibly a multinational coalition, in reality it is an American project, led by a US carrier strike group. The UK has sent one ship, as have Denmark and Greece. Norway, in turn, is sending only ten staff officers, while Netherlands is only sending two (yes, you read that correctly). Independently, Italy and France (which has a military base in Abu Dhabi) are deploying a frigate each to help police maritime trade routes in the region.

Is it going to be enough? Probably not. By all accounts, the Houthis are much better organised and equipped than the Somali pirates from a few years ago, and they are backed by a highly capable – and malevolent – regional power: Iran. Whilst the United States is seeking to avoid a broader war in the Middle East, a handful of European ships are hardly enough to dissuade the Houthi militias from holding as much as 30 per cent of global container trade hostage.

For years, the EU has congratulated itself on the ‘Brussels effect’. The idea is that while the bloc might lack hard power it has exercised a massive global influence by setting regulatory standards that the rest of the world has to adopt if it wants to retain access to the vast European market.

QOSHE - The EU is incapable of defending itself - Dalibor Rohac
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The EU is incapable of defending itself

3 23
10.01.2024

For years, European leaders have recognised that ‘in a world of carnivores, vegetarians have a very tough time of it,’ as Germany’s former Foreign Minister Siegmar Gabriel put it in 2018. Six years later, as a handful of well-armed Houthi pirates all but shut down maritime trade on the Red Sea, Europe is finding itself to be a vulnerable vegetarian once again.

To prevent the Houthis blocking trade through the........

© The Spectator


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