L’operazione Aspides dell’Unione Europea per assicurare la libertà di navigazione nel Mar Rosso.

— The paper discusses the main legal issues related to the European Union’s maritime security operation called EUNAVFOR ASPIDES, which was established on 8 February 2024 with Decision (CFSP) 2024/583. The operation aims at safeguarding freedom of navigation in the international waters of the Red Sea, the Arabian Sea, the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf, as well as through the straits of Baab al-Mandab and Hormuz. The paper first considers whether the coercive measures taken within the operation are consistent with the provisions on piracy contained in the Montego Bay Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). With regard to coercive operations exceeding what is permitted under UNCLOS, the question becomes whether such opera- tions were authorized under Resolution 2722 adopted by the Security Council on 10 January 2024, or, alternatively, considered as exercise of the right to self-defence under Article 51 of the Charter.