Spain will lift the veto on the participation of the European Union in the mission in the Red Sea, but will not participate in it. Sources from the Ministry of Defense sent a press release this Saturday afternoon in which, for the first time since Tuesday, Spain’s position is clearly reported. “Spain will not participate in the new mission of the European Union,” they state bluntly.
Last Thursday, the Foreign Affairs Working Group of the 27 met urgently at the request of Josep Borrell. At that time, the possibility was raised that Operation Atalanta to combat piracy, which has a presence in the Indian Ocean but has expanded its area of influence to the Red Sea, would be integrated into Operation Guardian of Prosperity promoted by the United States. United to protect commercial traffic from Houthi attacks. Spain, to the surprise of the rest of the countries, voted against that proposal. His veto is binding, so the operation could not be carried out without his consent, among other things, because the national Executive is one of those participating in Operation Atalanta, and the only Ally that remains in this mission permanently. uninterrupted since its creation in 2008. In fact, at the moment it is the Victoria frigate, of the F-80 class, that is deployed in the Indian Ocean fighting against piracy, which is picking up again after three years of calm.
As this newspaper revealed, last Friday the high representative of the European Union, Josep Borrell, worked to convince Spain to change the meaning of its vote. There was also a distinction from Joe Biden, president of the United States, who telephoned Pedro Sánchez. The note published by Moncloa does not specify whether Operation Guardian of Prosperity and Spain’s veto were discussed, but timing in diplomacy is never a coincidence.
Whether Borrell and Biden’s calls to Spain have had an effect or not is unknown at the moment. But the fact is that this Saturday the Ministry of Defense issued a note to clarify Spain’s position, one that favors the possibility of carrying out this mission without the Executive having to participate.
The note implies that the meeting in which Spain applied the veto was because they did not agree with extending Operation Atalanta. “We understand that any mission in the Red Sea, to guarantee maritime security, has to be a specific mission with its own entity in which the Naval Forces of the European countries that wish to participate participate and not a mere extension of Operation Atalanta,” they state in the writing.
«We understand that to have the maximum effectiveness that should be aspired to in the Red Sea, it is essential to create a new and specific mission, with its own scope, means and objectives, agreed upon by the corresponding EU bodies, a creation to which Spain does not oppose it in any way,” they conclude.
The Executive therefore lifts its veto on the European Union starting a new mission, in which Spain does not contemplate participating. Entering a new mission means consulting Congress, and it is worth remembering that the government’s minority partners expressed that they did not feel comfortable with participating in a mission led by the United States. So probably if Spain wanted to participate in this mission, Sánchez would need the votes of the Popular Party in the Upper House to carry out this initiative. For now, Spain will not be in the Red Sea.