EU to debate sending naval mission

BRUSSELS: EU countries will discuss next week a plan to set up a naval mission to help protect Red Sea shipping following attacks from Yemen’s Houthi rebels, diplomats said Friday. The proposal — in the pipeline in Brussels for several weeks — was mooted before US and British forces struck rebel-held Yemen early on Friday.

Any EU effort would seek to complement a US-led coalition, which includes numerous countries from the bloc that is already operating in the vital shipping route.

The details of the size and scope of any EU mission remain to be hammered out and European diplomats said a first discussion would take place in Brussels on Tuesday.