EU seeks emergency security protocol without duplicating NATO: Foreign policy chief

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said Monday that the bloc's proposed emergency security protocol must complement, rather than duplicate, NATO mechanisms as the EU explores ways to respond to so-called gray-zone attacks.

Speaking at a press conference following an EU defense ministers' meeting in Brussels, Kallas said member states held an initial discussion on the proposed protocol, which was designed to provide a mechanism for coordinating responses to so-called gray-zone attacks.

"We need to work also regarding the emergency protocol because there shouldn't be any duplication. That is what everybody is saying, and that is what we don't want to create as well," she said.

Kallas stressed that the mechanism should work "hand in hand" with NATO and should not create parallel structures, adding that she had discussed the issue with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.

"The emergency protocol is rather which tools can be used at the moment of aggression that is not armed aggression that is under the threshold of Article Five," she said, referring to NATO's collective defense provision.

She distinguished the proposed EU mechanism from NATO's Article 4, which allows allies to consult when the security of a member is threatened.

"Article Four in NATO is just consultations. It's not any kind of action plan," Kallas said, adding that the EU proposal would instead examine "what member states could do" in response to hybrid attacks below the threshold of armed aggression.

- Ukraine, Red Sea

On Ukraine, Kallas said EU member states agreed on the distribution of €6.6 billion ($7.4 billion) from the European Peace Facility, stressing that air defense remains the "key priority" for Kyiv.

She noted, however, that no new pledges for air-defense interceptors were made at Monday's meeting.

On military training, member states agreed on the first step of a strategic review of the EU Military Assistance Mission in support of Ukraine, including extending the mission for another two years.

The EU will also move ahead with establishing a coordination cell in Kyiv focused on battlefield lessons and strengthening military education, according to Kallas.

She said attacks and advances by Houthis had increased risks to shipping routes in the Red Sea, while the EU's Operation Aspides had helped keep the waterway open.

But she said the mission needed additional resources to become more effective.

She indicated that two EU member states had suggested they might provide additional vessels, while stressing that the mission not only needs more ships, but also requires vessels with the appropriate capabilities.