Members of the European Parliament on Thursday called on the European Union to list Yemen's Houthis as a terror group, citing destruction caused in Gulf states.
Lead negotiator Hana Jalloul, from the group of socialists and democrats, said she extended her “full solidarity with the people of Yemen and Gulf countries”.
“We did it!” Ms Jalloul wrote on X, after the motion for a resolution on the implication of Houthi attacks for regional security was adopted in parliament after weeks of negotiations.
EU sanctions include an asset freeze and a travel ban. They must be approved by the European Council, the Brussels body in which representatives of the EU's 27 governments sit.
The parliament called on the council to “put the Houthi movement, including its military and political wings, leadership and military and security apparatus, on the EU list of terrorist organisations”, it said in a statement.
MEPs said they “strongly condemn the unprecedented missile and drone attacks by the Houthis against Saudi Arabia, and their military offensive in Yemen”.
“MEPs describe these attacks as flagrant violations of international law and international humanitarian law, stressing that large numbers of Yemeni civilians have been killed and displaced, while the humanitarian crisis in the country has worsened,” the parliament statement said.
The parliament also condemned Iran's support to the Houthis and called on the disarmament of all Tehran-backed groups in the Middle East, such as Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Support for victims
Speaking at a debate on Tuesday, Ms Jalloul said Europe “cannot stand idly by”.
While recognising that EU nations were already invested in defending Gulf states, including with the defensive maritime operation Aspides, Ms Jalloul called on “broader sanctions and for the Houthis to be included in the EU terrorist list”.
She said measures should address the Houthi blockade of the Bab Al Mandeb strait, the gateway to Red Sea shipping, which alongside the Strait of Hormuz closure has disrupted the global food supply. Ms Jalloul also called for “political and financial support for the victims” of the Houthis’ actions.
MEP Antonio Lopez-Isturiz White, from the conservative European People's Party, said Europe's “credibility is on the line”. He added: “The EPP demands clearly and without ambiguity that the Houthis belong and have to be on the European list of terror now.”
Speaking alongside the MEPs, Kaja Kallas, the EU's foreign affairs and security policy chief, spoke of the need to get the EU's 27 states on board to designate the Houthis a terrorist organisation.
“I agree with those who said that the Houthis are not operating alone. They are being financed, equipped and trained by Iran, and the playbook is exactly the same,” she said.
Ms Kallas said she regretted that Houthi attacks had forced the postponement of a summit of EU and Gulf Co-operation Council leaders that had been scheduled to take place in Riyadh this month.
“The Gulf is where Europe’s best hopes are for diversifying trade supplies,” Ms Kallas said. “Around a fifth of the EU’s trade already passes through the Red Sea. The security of the region is in our core interest.”
Muslim Brotherhood
The European Parliament's position on the Houthis comes a few weeks after it also called on the European Commission, the bloc's legislative arm, to take tougher measures against the Muslim Brotherhood.
The 10-page resolution called on the commission to provide a “comprehensive overview” of all EU funds delivered to entities suspected of links with the Muslim Brotherhood.
In a statement sent to The National, a commission representative confirmed receiving the resolution, to which they said they would respond in due course.
“When it comes to the use of funds, the commission remains committed to not allowing any public money to be used for the promotion of extremism and terrorism,” they said. “This reflects a shared priority of the EU.”
They highlighted an already existing “robust legal framework” to protect the EU's financial interests against people or organisations involved in terrorist activities or in violation of the bloc's values.
In a counterterrorism agenda adopted this year, the European Commission reinforced measures designed to prevent the misuse of EU funds. They include a new financial data retrieval system for the purpose of tracking terrorist financing.