Middle East & North Africa
European Parliament urges EU to list the Houthis as a terrorist group and freeze their assets
In a resolution adopted on 22 October, MEPs condemn Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia, press the Council to put the movement on the EU terrorist list and call for more ships for the Aspides operation.
The European Parliament on Thursday 22 October adopted a resolution urging the Council of the EU to place the Houthi movement on the EU list of terrorist organisations. According to the Parliament’s press release, MEPs also condemned what they called unprecedented missile and drone attacks by the Houthis against Saudi Arabia and demanded that the group stop all hostilities, inside and outside Yemen.
What the resolution says
The text describes the Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia, and the group’s military offensive in Yemen, as flagrant violations of international law and international humanitarian law. It notes that large numbers of Yemeni civilians have been killed and displaced and that the humanitarian crisis in the country has worsened. Parliament also denounces Houthi missile and drone attacks on Israel and the United Arab Emirates in recent years, and expresses solidarity with the government of Saudi Arabia and support for Yemen’s legitimate government, reaffirming the security, sovereignty and territorial integrity of both countries.
MEPs demand that the Houthis immediately cease all hostilities and abandon any territorial ambitions. They strongly condemn what the resolution calls a Houthi naval blockade of Saudi Arabia and attacks on energy infrastructure and commercial shipping in the Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandab Strait.
The terrorist-list call and asset freezes
Following a proposal by EU High Representative Kaja Kallas, Parliament urges the Council to list the Houthi movement, including its military and political wings, its leadership and its military and security apparatus, as a terrorist organisation. A Parliament resolution of this kind is a political signal: the decision on listing rests with the Council. MEPs also call for all channels of financing for the movement to be dismantled and for the EU to freeze all funds and economic resources belonging to the Houthis and their facilitators.
Iran and the wider region
The resolution strongly condemns what it calls the destabilising role of the Iranian regime, stating that Tehran provides the Houthis with weapons, missile and drone technology, training and financing. That is the Parliament’s position as set out in the text. It also condemns coordination between the Houthis, Hezbollah and other Iran-backed armed groups, and says that lasting stability in the Middle East requires the disarmament and demobilisation of all militias and non-state armed groups.
Shipping, energy prices and Aspides
MEPs say they are gravely concerned by the effect on the EU of simultaneous disruption of maritime traffic through the Bab al-Mandab Strait and the Strait of Hormuz, which they say is pushing up energy prices for European households and businesses. The resolution stresses the vital role of the EU’s defensive ASPIDES maritime security operation, welcomes its expanded mandate and calls on member states to provide it with additional, suitably equipped naval and air assets. Geopolitiki previously reported that Kallas said the operation needs at least ten ships, in EU approves new Lebanon support mission and extends Iraq advisory mission; Kallas says Aspides needs at least 10 ships.
Parliament further calls for closer EU cooperation with Gulf partners on security and defence and welcomes the efforts of member states and the United Kingdom to provide air defence support in the region. On Yemen itself, it voices concern about the catastrophic humanitarian situation, aggravated by renewed fighting, and asks the EU to increase aid, including through the forthcoming Global Europe instrument, with strict oversight of EU-funded humanitarian assistance.
Background on the Saudi front
The vote follows a week in which Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia have dominated regional news. Geopolitiki has covered the US order for non-emergency diplomats and families to leave the kingdom in BREAKING: US orders non-emergency diplomats and families to leave Saudi Arabia after deadly Houthi attacks, and the French deployment in Macron in Riyadh: French personnel and assets have been deployed in Saudi Arabia for eight days against the Houthi threat.
The Parliament’s resolution does not by itself change the EU’s sanctions or listings. The next step is whether the Council takes up the call. The full adopted text and the plenary debate of 20 October are linked from the European Parliament press release.