Europe’s Role in Ensuring Maritime Security in the Strait of Hormuz
Although European countries—whether members of the European Union or NATO—have not heeded President Donald Trump’s call to establish an international maritime coalition to secure shipping in the Strait of Hormuz in the face of Iranian threats, this does not mean that these countries have remained uninvolved in the issue, for three reasons. First: The sharp rise in gas and electricity prices in Europe, and the disruption of imports of many goods from the region as a result of the closure of the Strait. Second: The Arab Gulf region has occupied a significant place in the European Union’s focus for decades, and this interest culminated in the EU’s issuance of a partnership document with the Arab Gulf states in 2022, which stipulated in one of its clauses cooperation between the two sides in the field of maritime security. Third: The fact that these countries have not joined U.S.-led military coalitions for maritime security does not mean they have not played a role in securing navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, whether through their participation in the U.S.-led “Resolute Will” operation to prevent attacks on oil tankers during the Iran-Iraq War (1980–1988), or through France’s establishment of the European Maritime Navigation Monitoring Mission in the Strait of Hormuz in 2020, supported by seven European countries and headquartered in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi.
European interest in maritime security in the Strait of Hormuz during the recent conflict is reflected in two significant developments. First: the conference chaired by France and the United Kingdom on April 17, 2026, with the participation of 51 countries to discuss securing navigation in the Strait of Hormuz. Second: The two countries co-chaired a conference of military experts on April 22 and 23 of the same year in London, with the aim of transforming diplomatic understandings into an action plan to ensure the security of navigation in the Strait.
Despite the importance of these two conferences, two points stood out. First: the United States did not participate in either of them, reflecting a divergence between American and European positions, as Washington wants immediate action while European countries believe it should be postponed until after the war. Second: the conferences’ outcomes emphasized that the mission of these countries would be purely defensive, not offensive.
And while the recent war has reaffirmed that the European economy is closely linked to maritime security—not only in the Strait of Hormuz but also in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and thus the Red Sea— there is a need for coordinated and sustained European action to protect these corridors in cooperation with the United States, which possesses massive naval forces in the region compared to the symbolic nature of the European role, whether through the European naval mission dispatched to the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden in February 2024 to counter Houthi threats there, or the European Mission for Maritime Security Awareness in the Strait of Hormuz, led by France and headquartered in Abu Dhabi, as previously mentioned. On the other hand, while protecting maritime navigation through military efforts is important, there remains a need for international legal frameworks to impose obligations on Iran not to threaten navigation in the Strait of Hormuz again and to cease supporting the Houthis in threatening maritime navigation in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, which requires European diplomatic efforts to support any proposed international resolutions regarding freedom of navigation in these two vital waterways. Thirdly, a comprehensive view of maritime security threats requires a unified European approach to armed militias in the region, which are capable of threatening maritime navigation through the misuse of modern technology.
Controversy sometimes arises regarding the roles of European countries, whether individually or within the framework of the European Union or NATO, given that 22 member states belong to both organizations. However, regardless of the umbrella under which these countries operate, there are three facts that European decision-makers must keep in mind. First: All regional events unequivocally confirm that future battles will continue to be fought at sea. Second: Maritime security is central to maintaining security in the Arabian Gulf and regional security. Third: It is difficult to distinguish between the concepts of regional security and global security, as the two levels intersect when discussing international waterways. In light of these facts, European nations are now called upon more than ever to play a role in addressing maritime security threats, perhaps by unifying the operations of the two European missions in the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, and proposing other approaches —not only from the perspective of implementing the provisions of the EU-Gulf Partnership, but also by increasing attention to the seas as sources of wealth, which makes them an arena for competition and conflict.
Note: This article has been automatically translated, the full article is available in Arabic.
Dr. Ashraf Mohammed Keshk, Director of International and Strategic Studies Program
