EU has 'no appetite' to expand naval mission to Hormuz, foreign policy chief says

EU foreign ministers back strengthening the Middle East naval mission but stop short of extending its mandate to the Strait of Hormuz, says Kaja Kallas.

Lili Bayer and Andrew Gray/Reuters

March 17, 2026

EU has 'no appetite' to expand naval mission to Hormuz, foreign policy chief says

EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas speaks during a closing press conference at a European Union Energy and Foreign Affairs ministers meeting in Brussels, Belgium, March 16, 2026.

Omar Havana/Reuters

European Union foreign ministers showed a "clear wish" to strengthen a naval mission in the Middle East but had no appetite to expand its mandate to the Strait of Hormuz for the time being, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said on Monday.

"There was in our discussions a clear wish to strengthen this operation, but for the time being, there was no appetite in changing the mandate of the operation, Aspides," Kallas told reporters after meeting EU foreign ministers in Brussels.

-Lili Bayer and Andrew Gray/Reuters