It’s time for Brussels to designate Yemen’s Houthis as a terrorist organization

Sometimes clarity matters more than caution. It is time for the European Union to call a spade a spade.

After a Houthi missile strike this autumn hit a Dutch-flagged vessel in the Gulf of Aden, killing a merchant mariner, the Netherlands urged Brussels to designate the Iran-backed group – formally known as Ansar Allah – as a terrorist organisation. The case is overdue.

The Houthis are already designated terrorists by the US, Australia, Canada and New Zealand. The EU, by contrast, has sanctioned three pillars of Tehran’s transnational militant network – Hamas, Hezbollah and Palestinian Islamic Jihad – while leaving the Houthis conspicuously untouched. That inconsistency now carries real costs for European security, commerce and credibility.

The group’s record is unambiguous. Since the start of the Gaza war, Houthi maritime attacks have killed 18 commercial sailors. The European Parliament has described these strikes as “illegal, unacceptable and profoundly destabilising”. Though the Houthis paused attacks during the Gaza ceasefire, they retain both the capability and the intent to resume operations in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden at a time of their choosing.

The economic damage is already evident. Even after recent Houthi assurances, Hapag-Lloyd chief executive Rolf Habben Jansen said he does not expect a return to Red Sea routes “very soon”. Other shippers agree – as do insurers, who continue to rate the waterway as high risk. Before the campaign began, roughly 15% of global maritime trade by volume – and 12% of seaborne oil – passed through the Red Sea.

EU law defines terrorism to include efforts to “unduly compel” governments or international organisations to act or refrain from acting. That description fits the Houthis’ strategy precisely. Their Red Sea campaign aimed to internationalise the Gaza war – choking a vital maritime artery to pressure Israel, coerce shipping firms to boycott Israeli ports and force outside powers to intervene diplomatically.

Brussels has not ignored the problem. It launched Operation Aspides to defend commercial shipping. Yet the mission’s own commander has acknowledged it lacks sufficient resources – and EU capitals have largely avoided direct military action, even as some supported earlier US-UK strikes. With limited kinetic options, Europe should turn to the tools it does wield effectively – sanctions, financial pressure and lawfare.

Opponents of designation argue it would complicate humanitarian work and diplomacy in Yemen. That concern has long guided Europe’s hesitation. But it rests on a flawed premise – that meaningful humanitarian operations can proceed while the Houthis control territory seized by force and systematically obstruct aid.

Washington tested this theory. The Biden administration initially lifted the Houthis’ terrorist designation over humanitarian concerns. As the group expanded its maritime attacks and repression, the US moved to restore terrorism-related sanctions. Experience has shown that it is not sanctions that cripple aid delivery – it is Houthi behaviour.

The group has harassed, detained and expelled UN and international NGO staff, effectively shutting down humanitarian operations in areas it controls. Today the Houthis hold 59 UN employees prisoner. More than 40 have been accused of espionage, and prosecutors have sought the death penalty for 21 – alleging they aided an Israeli strike last August. Such claims underscore how dangerous the operating environment has become, independent of any sanctions regime.

Nor has massive aid solved Yemen’s crisis. Nearly $30 billion has flowed into the country over the past decade, yet UN agencies still describe Yemen as among the world’s worst humanitarian disasters. Independent monitors have documented widespread Houthi diversion, exploitation and extortion of aid – abuses that undercut relief efforts far more than targeted sanctions ever could.

Designation would also deliver strategic benefits. Aligning EU measures with trans-Atlantic partners would strengthen sanctions enforcement, deter fundraising and disrupt illicit finance networks that sustain the Iran-backed group. It would also enable Brussels to target Houthi enablers already sanctioned by allied governments.

Europe’s permissiveness has had concrete consequences. The Houthis have been able to operate commercially on the continent – including broadcasting their propaganda channel, al-Masirah, via a French satellite. A terrorist designation would oblige EU states to sever such financial and business ties.

The choice before Brussels is no longer between principle and pragmatism. Given the collapse of effective humanitarian access under Houthi rule – and the clear gains from coordinated sanctions and deterrence – the case for designation is compelling. Europe has the legal basis, the precedent and the strategic interest.

It is time for the EU to designate the Houthis for what they are – a terrorist organisation.

Bridget Toomey is a research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. Behnam Ben Taleblu is senior director of FDD’s Iran program and a senior fellow.