Addressing a press conference in Brussels after an EU Foreign Ministers’ meeting, Borrell said that, due to attacks on shipping in the Red Sea beginning to negatively impact the European economy, EU members have agreed to take action.

“The Red Sea was high in our discussion. We agreed in principle to establish a new European Union Maritime security operation and discussed the various options of this missions that they propose to the member states. Now we need to move towards unanimity to see when we can establish this mission,” said Borrell.

He didn’t specify whether the EU's joint military mission in the Red Sea will be carried out independently of the operations there of a US-led multinational force.

EU countries have not directly participated in the airstrikes against Houthi forces in Yemen that the US-UK alliance has carried out in recent days, although some EU countries, such as Germany, the Netherlands, and Denmark have provided logistical support.

Valdis Dombrovskis, European Commission Vice President, said Tuesday that the European Union faces a risk of consumer prices surging and growth slowing due to disruptions to shipping through the Red Sea. Dombrovskis said shipping traffic through the Red Sea decreased 22% in one month due to Houthi attacks.

He added that the decline will accelerate as shipping companies re-route their vessels around the southern tip of Africa.

23% of all European imports came by ship from Asia in 2022, the vast majority of it travelling through the Suez Canal via the Red Sea.