Kaja Kallas, the EU’s foreign policy chief, said on Monday there was “no appetite” to extend the mandate of the EU’s naval mission Aspides into the Strait of Hormuz despite growing calls for Europe to help secure the waterway and prevent major disruptions to global oil supplies.
“The discussion was that it (Aspides) should be strengthened because it does not have too many naval assets," Kallas told reporters at a press conference following a gathering of foreign ministers in Brussels. “But the discussion on whether we are also extending this mandate to cover the strait of Hormuz (...) there was no appetite from the member states to do that.”
“Nobody wants to go actively in this war,” she added.
Kallas spoke after the EU’s 27 foreign affairs ministers gathered in Brussels to discuss how Europe should respond to the impact of the war with Iran, which has triggered what analysts describe as the largest disruption to global oil supplies in history and sent oil prices above $100 a barrel.
Her remarks also came a day after US president Donald Trump increased pressure on Europe to help protect the Strait of Hormuz, warning that NATO faces a “very bad” future if its members fail to come to Washington’s aid.
Ministers discussed in particular whether to strengthen Aspides, which was established in February 2024 as a defensive operation following repeated attacks by the Iran-aligned Houthis on international shipping.
Aspides is aimed at protecting vessels, safeguarding freedom of navigation and monitor the maritime situation in a vast area comprising of the Strait of Hormuz but also the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, Arabian Sea, Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf.
But on Monday, Trump's appeal produced little results as EU countries were not eager to expand the remit of Aspides.
Going into the meeting, German foreign affairs minister Johann Wadephul ruled out any German participation into the operation, while his Romanian counterpart Oana-Silvia Toiu suggested that Bucharest doesn’t want to get involved in the Aspides mission, as the country needs to keep its focus on its naval capabilities in the Black Sea.
Luxembourg’s foreign minister Xavier Bettel echoed some of those reservations and stressed that the EU is not directly involved in the war.
“With satellites, with communications, we are very happy to be useful but don’t ask with troops and machines,” he told reporters ahead of the Foreign affairs Council.
