Houthis on the terrorist list: Strasbourg takes a tougher line, Europe must also reach out

On Thursday 22 October, the European Parliament adopted by a show of hands and, according to Euronews, by a large majority, a resolution calling for the Houthis to be added to the European Union's terrorist list. The vote comes the day after another deadly attack on a Saudi airport.

The facts: an escalation now hitting civilians in the Gulf

On Wednesday evening, Dammam airport, in eastern Saudi Arabia, was struck. According to the Saudi civil aviation authority, quoted by AFP, the attack killed two people, a Saudi and an Indian national, and injured eight. The Houthis denied responsibility, while claiming other strikes on Aramco oil facilities in Yanbu and at the Shaybah field. According to an AFP count based on official figures, attacks on Saudi airports have killed 22 people since the start of the month.

The consequences keep piling up. Staff still present at Aramco's headquarters in Dhahran were ordered to leave the premises, AFP and Reuters report. The US State Department ordered the departure of its non-essential staff and their families, saying the Houthis are increasingly engaged in hostilities. The investment forum nicknamed "Davos in the desert" has been postponed, as has a summit between the European Union and the Gulf states planned in Riyadh, according to High Representative Kaja Kallas, quoted by The National.

This conflict, which had been calm since the 2022 truce, resumed in July, AFP notes. In September, the Houthis took control of Yemen's Red Sea coast, tightening their grip on the Bab el-Mandeb strait, at a time when Iran is blocking the Strait of Hormuz.

What Strasbourg is asking for

The non-binding resolution targets the movement as a whole, including its political and military wings, as well as its leaders. According to Eunews, it calls for all its funding channels to be dismantled and its assets frozen. It condemns the role of Iran, accused of supplying weapons, missile and drone technology, training and money, and supports strengthening the European naval operation Aspides.

The text's lead negotiator, the socialist Hana Jalloul (S&D), expressed her solidarity with the Yemeni people and the Gulf countries. For conservative MEP Antonio López-Istúriz White, quoted by The National, Europe's credibility is at stake.

But Parliament does not decide. A terrorist listing requires the unanimous agreement of the Twenty-Seven, Kaja Kallas pointed out.

The arguments on each side

Supporters of the listing make a strong case: striking civilian airports violates international humanitarian law, and the Union has already classified Iran's Revolutionary Guards and Hezbollah's armed wing as terrorist organisations. Not treating the Houthis the same way would, in their view, be inconsistent. France itself condemned "in the strongest terms" the 10 October attack on Riyadh airport, in which a French national was injured, according to the Quai d'Orsay.

The reservations concern the fate of Yemenis. When the United States designated the Houthis as a terrorist organisation, NGOs such as Oxfam and experts from the United States Institute of Peace warned, as Time reports, that banks and suppliers could flee the country for fear of sanctions, choking off the aid on which around 80% of the population depends. Yet the humanitarian situation is worsening: according to the UN, more than 250,000 people have fled the recent fighting, and ten of Taiz's sixteen districts are classified as being in a food emergency.

Analysis: firmness, yes, but with a policy

Nothing justifies targeting airport terminals and civilians. The solidarity shown by Paris with Saudi Arabia in the face of these attacks is well founded. But a label is not a strategy. The signal sent by Strasbourg is useful; it resolves neither the delivery of aid nor the way out of the war.

The French diplomatic tradition, from de Gaulle to Chirac, has always held two requirements together: unambiguous condemnation of violence against civilians, and a refusal to close the door to dialogue. International law applies to everyone. The Houthis violate it by striking airports; it also applies to the strikes carried out for years on Yemen's civilian infrastructure, which the movement invokes to justify its attacks. Pointing this out excuses nothing; it is the condition for European credibility in the region.

With Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb disrupted, our energy and food supplies are also at stake. Yet the Aspides mission has only three Italian and Greek ships, with two more promised by Belgium and the Netherlands, while Kaja Kallas has estimated, according to Euronews, that at least ten would be needed. Europe cannot call for sanctions in Strasbourg and leave its own naval mission under-resourced.

Conclusion: a list, and an outstretched hand

If France supports listing the Houthis in the Council, it should set two conditions: clear and workable humanitarian exemptions, so that banks and NGOs can keep getting food, fuel and medicine into Yemen; and a European diplomatic initiative, with the countries of the region which, like Egypt, are calling for every political avenue to be explored. The question remains open: can Europe be both firm in the face of attacks and useful to peace?

Article written with the help of artificial intelligence.