The High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Federica Mogherini, announced on Thursday 29 August that the concept of a “coordinated maritime presence” will soon be in place.
“All Member States have shown interest in continuing work” on this “very flexible” concept, she announced at the end of the informal meeting of defence ministers in Helsinki. While the technical work is only at the beginning, Ms Mogherini hoped that it could be concluded in the next “couple of months”.
In concrete terms, this concept would make it possible to use the presence of national assets in certain areas, “put together on a voluntary basis and remaining under national command, in order to share analyses and promote international cooperation at sea and partnerships with coastal countries”, according to Ms Mogherini. “There is a growing threat to the freedom and security of navigation. Maritime security is challenged by growing geostrategic rivalries, piracy, organised crime”, she reasoned, pointing out that there was a growing demand for the EU to have a role in ensuring security at sea.
According to the High Representative, the coordination to be put in place will be the same as that in Brest under the Maritime Security Centre for the Horn of Africa (MSC-HOA).
It is not a replacement for the CSDP missions that the EU “has and will continue to have in the future”, but an additional, complementary tool, Ms Mogherini specified.
Once the concept is finalised, a first test will be conducted in the Gulf of Guinea.
The decision to implement the concept of a coordinated maritime presence comes at a time when Europeans are discussing possible actions in the Strait of Hormuz.
However, according to Ms Mogherini, this is a coincidence. According to her, discussions on this concept began a few months ago. “This is not related to specific tensions, it is not related to tensions in the Gulf”, she said. This was confirmed by a European source who stated that the idea was being discussed following tensions in the Strait.
A concept applicable to the Strait of Hormuz?
When asked about the possibility of applying such a concept to the Strait of Hormuz, Ms Mogherini did not exclude this option “in the future”, however, stating that it was “too early to say”. At the end of the press conference, the Foreign Ministers were to discuss the situation in the Middle East and, in particular, security in the Strait of Hormuz. When they arrived in Council, the ministers were divided on possible European action in the area.
According to French Defence Minister Florence Parly, some European states would like to deploy resources in the region to ensure a “dissuasive presence”. “We don't want to be in a ship escort system, but we want to ensure a deterrent presence”, she explained to the AFP. The Minister said that the number of Member States willing to commit is “counting on the fingers of one hand”, hoping that the meeting would increase the number of participating countries. “But the system will be built using existing resources, from which it will be necessary to make the most of”, she added, while France permanently maintains a frigate in the area. For the Minister, the objective is to “guarantee the free navigation and security of ships in this region, which is vital for the transport of hydrocarbons”.
“Anything that can contribute to de-escalation can help [...] that's why it will be a question of how we deal with the situation in the Strait of Hormuz”, said German Minister Heiko Maas.
Other ministers were more reserved when they arrived at Council.
According to Luxembourg Minister Jean Asselborn, the EU is not politically ready to have a military mission. “The EU has no interest in exerting even more military pressure on Iran, we must remain on the line of the de-escalation that we have preached. This does not mean that there is not a mission, say a surveillance mission”, he told EUROPE, citing as an example the EU's Atalanta mission in the Horn of Africa.
Estonian Minister Edgars Rinkevics said the EU should be more active at diplomatic and political levels. However, this does not necessarily have to be translated into a military mission. “If we are talking about a maritime mission, we must first look at international law”, he explained, adding that we must be “very careful to avoid any kind of military escalation”. He added that his country was “very far from any kind of position supporting any kind of engagement” in the area.
A European source pointed out that it was complicated to set up an at-sea observation mission, as it would be done with military vessels and a clash could occur. She added that, to have appeasement, you have to play towards appeasement. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant, with Pascal Hansens)