EU ready to bolster Middle East maritime missions as Hormuz traffic stalls, oil nears $120
European Union leaders said the bloc is prepared to strengthen its naval operations in the Middle East to protect critical shipping lanes, as the war triggered by U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran disrupts maritime traffic and sends energy prices surging.
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European Council President Antonio Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen “expressed their openness to further tailor and enhance these operations in order to better respond to the situation,” the EU said in a statement after talks with regional leaders.
The pledge comes as the impact of the widening conflict reverberates across Europe, with NATO allies targeted and supply routes strained. Maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz — the narrow chokepoint for a fifth of the world’s crude and a substantial volume of gas — has “all but” dried up, EU officials said. The bloc has been weighing reinforcement of its mission in the Red Sea to deter attacks and escort commercial vessels.
Oil prices spiked early Monday, briefly approaching $120 a barrel, as Tehran launched fresh retaliatory strikes in the Gulf and the conflict entered a second week. European gas prices also jumped as much as 30%, though they remain below the peaks reached after Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
The EU economy commissioner warned of a potential “inflationary shock” if hostilities persist, disrupt sea lanes and target energy infrastructure. “In a more benign scenario where the conflict is contained within a couple of weeks, one can expect that it would not have major effect on the global and European economy,” he told reporters. “But” a more drawn-out confrontation and continued disruption could push energy costs higher, he said.
“We are now seeing a regional conflict with unintended consequences. And the spillover is already a reality today,” von der Leyen told EU ambassadors ahead of the call with Middle Eastern leaders. “Our citizens are caught in the crossfire. Our partners are being attacked,” she said, citing an Iranian-made drone hitting a British base on EU-member Cyprus, trade disruptions and displacement of people.
While Iran has not formally closed the Strait of Hormuz, the Commission chief underscored the security stakes and geopolitical principles at play. She said “there should be no tears shed for the Iranian regime,” adding that “the people of Iran deserve freedom, dignity, and the right to decide their own future — even if we know this will be fraught with danger and instability during and after the war.”
Von der Leyen framed the “longer-term impact” of the war as raising “existential questions” for the international rules-based order and the European Union’s role within it. “The idea that we can simply retrench and withdraw from this chaotic world is simply a fallacy,” she said at the annual gathering of EU diplomats in Brussels.
The Commission also sought to calm immediate market fears, saying there is “no imminent oil supply” shortage in Europe despite crude benchmarks topping $100 for the first time since the early months of Russia’s full-scale invasion. “There is no imminent oil supply shortage in Europe. Per our rules, all member states must have the 90 days emergency stocks,” European Commission spokeswoman Anna-Kaisa Itkonen said.
Even as the bloc confronts Middle East turmoil and pressures on shipping routes, von der Leyen reiterated Brussels’ commitment to Ukraine. She pledged the EU would deliver a vital 90 billion euros loan to Kyiv that is currently blocked by Hungary. “We will deliver on our commitments, because our credibility — and more importantly, our security — is at stake,” she said.
For now, EU leaders are signaling a more muscular maritime posture and contingency planning designed to keep cargo moving, shield European consumers from a new energy shock and reaffirm the bloc’s geopolitical resolve as the conflict ripples far beyond the Gulf.
By Abdiwahab Ahmed
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
